


Caged

by MadSoullessQueen



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Complete, Drama, Drugged Sex, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Heterosexual Sex, M/M, MardLu, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-09-25
Packaged: 2020-10-06 00:02:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 60,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20497568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadSoullessQueen/pseuds/MadSoullessQueen
Summary: After his defeat by Fairy Tail, Mard Geer was not destroyed as everyone thought. No, instead his master, Zeref, had other designs for the King of the Underworld. Even in his darkest machinations, Mard Geer never thought this would be his punishment.For Lucy it had been 37 days since Fairy Tail disbanded and Tartaros destroyed. She was managing on her own as a freelance mage, but her luck ultimately ran out. The terms of her capture are cruel, making it worse she must share a cell with the demon who caused her to lose everything.





	1. Love not required

Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail. I own this plot, complete with citrus goodness.

* * *

Mard Geer pulled on the iron chains again, they creaked and moaned but again they did not break. He planted his bare and dirty feet against the concrete block wall and tried again. The manacles began digging into his skin, forcing him to bite his lip to not cry out in pain. He hoped the metal plate bolted into the wall would come loose, that perhaps it was the weakest point. Even if he pulled down the whole damn wall, it would at least mean he was no longer confined to this windowless, stuffy cell.

Another pull and he found his strength giving out as he felt warm liquid run down his wrists. Mard wanted to scream, but he would not give Zeref the satisfaction. He had been through enough and had played puppet to that man for too many years. His whole life to be exact.

He dropped the heavy chains, they clinked against the stone ground as Mard put his head in his hands and tried to suppress the shudder. Locked up, again. No sunlight. No roses. No one to talk to and no clean air to breathe. It was like his creation and conditioning all over again.

They say it is darkest before the dawn but what if you spent a century having not seen a dawn? Nor a midday sun or a sunset. There are no variating degrees of darkness when it is all you see. They blend into each other so perfectly that one shade of night is the same as any other dark space. He could see in the dark, but no one ever tells you that night vision comes with a twist, no true color but a strange murky green over anything that is not pitch.

That was Mard's world for far too long. His only contact, Zeref, would feed him once a day, let him see a thin thread of light, and asked him if he loved him. Until the day that Mard replied in earnest that yes, he loved the man who gave him food, and a bit of light, he lived that way.

When Zeref had finally freed him from that room, Mard saw the sun for the first time in over a century, it was akin to being reborn. The first time he felt sunlight on his face, he smiled and was promptly smacked for the display of affection. He learned well from that moment and locked away his feelings for anything that was not the dark lord.

It was all part of the end goal to make Mard the perfect instrument for his suicide. That Mard would love him enough to end his life. Mard never fully understood, why it was this way, only that it was to be.

To ensure his service, love, and loyalty Zeref removed most of Mard's soul and transcribed it into a book. If anything should happen to the book, Mard would be nothing more than a frozen statue, hollow on the inside. Mard had learned his lessons well and what was the final result?

A pack of unruly children ruining his plan and in the final moments his master stole him away. He could not have planned for Fairy Tail and Sabertooth would join together to take on his perfection. Or that one of his own would give his Devil Slayer Powers to his son. Let us not forget the fact that a Celestial Summoner had summoned the Spirit King to directly assault him.

Mard knew he should be dead, and death would be welcomed but why was he in an old cell? Where was Zeref? His stomach rumbled and he remembered that it had been several days, or perhaps a week, since he had eaten last. He didn't need food to survive, like humans, he needed it to keep his strength up, since Curse pulled from the body and not the soul.

His eyes were getting heavy and Mard slowly made his way to the little pile of hay on the cold hard floor. It did not bother him that he was losing blood all over the floor and making a mess of himself. All he wanted was to sleep and maybe someone deity care enough to finally just let him die.

Mard entered a dreamless sleep, so deep he never heard the door open or the whispered, "this won't hurt a bit."

* * *

Lucy was having a rotten day, so much so that she had coined this "Universe Hates Lucy Day! Part 37." Then again 37 was the exact number of days that Fairy Tail had been shut down, locked up, and disbanded.

She wanted to keep up hope that this was a mistake and her nakama would return but it was not to be. No, they had all scattered, the one that hurt her most was Natsu. Not because he left but that she could not mourn and help her friend after his father was killed. No, Natsu had left to train and get stronger, she understood that. If it was her, she would have done the same. Though would it have just killed him to let her help him?

Who knows?

She walked along the dimly lit street in the small rural town - Alderree or Appletree or something like that - her purse filled with not quite enough Jewel to cover rent, food for a week, and the train ticket home. The messy mission of Vulcan hunting just had not gone her way and she accidentally took out a small cottage that belonged to the mayor.

Lucy was now a free agent, working under the Rune Knight Bounty Board. When the Rune Knights were too busy, they would contract out bounties to unguilded mages looking for work. Like a state-run employment agency really, though Lucy could do with less forms to fill out.

Thinking of those forms, she subconsciously started rubbing circles with her thumb against her writing hand. She was feeling lingering hand cramps even at the thought, but for right now it was all she had, and it was barely paying the bills.

Jason had asked her to work for him at _Sorcerer's Weekly_, but she declined the offer. Mostly because chasing celebrity mages around for gossip stories was not her thing, but also because she needed to keep using her magic. If Natsu was going to get stronger, so was she. After all, its what good teammates do.

Lucy rounded the corner towards the aging train station, her eyes opened wide when she saw the train already sitting there. "Fuck," she mumbled under her breath as she started to run, not caring that the alley was getting darker. She could have sworn the train was leaving at 9:00 PM, it was only 8:30, wasn't it?

Her only focus right now was trying to make it, maybe the train was just being cleaned or maybe she had the time wrong. On reflex she brushed over Horologium's key and got the automatic response of "The time is 9:06 PM." It spurred her on, especially after she noticed the smokestack of the engine growing bigger as the faint sound of "all aboard" blared over crackly speakers.

She was halfway there and her focus right on the station that she didn't see the man appear out of the shadows till he was right on top of her. Lucy tried to stop but crashed into him, bounced off him and landed on her ass.

"Sorry… My train is leaving!" She scrambled to get up not caring that she flashed this dude her pink panties. Lucy tried to side step the large and garishly dressed man, but he moved in front of her.

"Lucretia Isabel Heartfilia?" he asked and something about his voice had the hairs on the back of her neck standing straight up. A cold sweat began to form has her heart accelerated and she reached for her keys. She could deal with a missed train and the inn fees for a night later but not if she didn't survive this moment.

_Rule one, admit nothing._ Lucy gave him a smile, "sorry sir, wrong person. I must go."

The air filled with a dark chuckle, the kind that would scare anyone and gave you the feeling of someone walking over you grave. Lucy shivered and tried again to side step the creepy man, but he moved too quickly and suddenly she felt pain blossom from her stomach. The air rushed out of her as her sight became fuzzy, an exotic scent filled her nose and that was when everything went black.

She was vaguely attached to her body, or so it felt, when someone removed her clothes. Lucy's eyes were only a fraction open and nothing could come out of her mouth when she was bathed. This had to of been a dream, but what kind of dream involves silk, body oil, and her hair being played with. She could barely understand what was happening to her or why this was happening to her.

Was it possible that somehow Bora had come back to finish his collection of her? Was this what it was like to be sold to sex slavery? Lucy had no idea, she could barely think of her own name, but she knew that her friends were gone. Her keys! She couldn't feel their magic or the cool metals, they were made of against her hip. She tried to move and reach for them, but her limbs were heavy, barely responding to her commands.

Everything was dim to her, but she could feel the caress of silken sheets against her body and the cool air lapping at bared skin. Her head was too heavy, this dream or nightmare felt too real, but it also felt like it was happening to someone else and not her. All she could do was go back to sleep and as she moved, she felt another body beside her. It was warm and she could smell the scent of roses. She moved towards the heat and pressed herself against the companion. Now all she could do was wait for the alarm clock to go off and tell her this was a dream.

But did this dream have to feel so nice and warm?

"W-what?" Lucy asked, trying to pull herself out of sleep as someone shook her. Strong hands on her shoulders as her torso was shaken like a martini.

"Who are you?" a deep baritone voice asked.

Lucy's eyes flew open, she did not know that voice and as she struggled to grab her wits, she smacked away the hands on her shoulders and pushed herself back. That was a mistake as she tangled in the silk sheets and landed awkwardly on a plush red carpet.

"Ow," she moaned as she rubbed her head and after a few blinks she finally opened her eyes. The most beautiful man looking down at her.

He had long dark plum hair that cascaded down, large coal black eyes framed in lashes she would kill for, high cheekbones, an angled nose and plush lips. She noticed that he was bare chested, least from the bit that hung over the side of the black bed letting her see the details of his collar bones and muscle definition along his shoulders. It was a nice build, muscle but not obscene.

The man stared at her, his expression was almost unreadable, it was a mixture of shock, curiosity and annoyance. Either that or he has one hell of a resting smirk. She did not know.

"Again, who are you? Why are you here?"

"Lucy and I have no idea," she said as she raised her hand to brush her hair out of her face. The man grabbed her hand and his eyes went wide as he stared at her mark.

"You are a Fairy Tail mage," he said it as a statement of fact and not a question.

"Celestial Summoner," she nibbled her lip and looked around for a second.

They were in a beautiful bedroom, opulent in its textures, colors and details. This was like one of those million-dollar honeymoon suites she had heard of and seen in travel magazines. As she looked down, she noticed she was only in a deep burgundy slip and one of the straps slipped off her shoulder. She and Mr. Man could see the top part of her pink areola, she adjusted herself and wrapped the black sheet around her.

"Who are you? Why are you here?" she asked him.

He tilted his head to the side, she could tell he was trying to sort this out as well. Instead he disappeared from her view and in a moment later he swung his legs over the side and stood up. Lucy got a very nice look at one hundred percent beautifully sculpted male specimen in grey satin lounge pants.

Her companion extended a hand and she took it, letting him pull her up. Lucy tripped on her sheet and crashed right into him, he caught her, and she could not only feel the softness of his skin but also smelt the roses from her not quite a dream.

He curled his fingers under her chin, tilting her head up to look at him. His midnight eyes glimmered for a moment as his lips parted and closed and his breath hitched so slightly that if she wasn't pressed against his chest, she would not have noticed it.

"Mard Geer Tartaros," he said, and she started to push against him. He was too strong, and she could not move, not as he curled his hand around the back of her head and pushed her face into his chest. "Like you I am a prisoner of Zeref," he whispered. It was almost comforting.

"Z-Zeref?" she asked, trying to sound articulate while her lips were pressed against his chest.

Lucy heard clapping and felt Mard go completely rigid against her. He turned his head and she used his distraction to get out of his hold. This could not be happening; didn't they just defeat this guy? Didn't her guild disband because of all the damage he did? What the hell was going on?

Here's what Lucy knew, she was dressed up like a sex doll, locked in a very nice bedroom, and standing next to the demon who tried to destroy magic and she sacrificed her Aquarius key to try to stop. Mard's glare was fixated and Lucy turned to look at what his attention. At the end of the room behind illuminated glass was the darkest mage to ever walk Earth Land, Zeref.

"You have awoken and chosen to not start fighting. This will make my plans easier." He said and Lucy looked up at Mard, who was still only staring daggers at the other man.

"W-what do you want?" Lucy asked.

"There's a clever girl," he chuckled, "I heard you were one of the smarter ones in the Guild." Had it been anyone else Lucy might have felt a bit of pride at those words, but not in this case, nope.

"Zeref," Mard growled and Lucy side stepped away from him.

"Mard Geer, you are powerless here, as is your companion. Though this final task I have for you is simple. Impregnate her. Then after the child is born, you are free to go."

Mard flew at the glass, he began to beat on it with his fist as he shouted in some ungodly language Lucy had never heard before. As he kept Zeref distracted, Lucy looked around for anything that could be helpful.

The few plush chairs had metal cuffs and bolted plates on their legs. The coffee table and dresser did as well. There was a small bar height dining table with wooden stools attached to the floor at the ends of it. The bed was not helpful, there was no headboard or poles for a canopy that could be detached. There were no knickknacks and books in the bookcase were not very thick. The side room looked like a bathroom, but she bet it would be pointless to look, not with how secured this room was. Whoever designed this room had certainly planned for everything. Now as she looked around, there wasn't even a door, just rustic stained concrete poured walls that shimmered a bit.

She touched the wall and felt the drain on her magic, it hurt and quickly she pulled back her hand, shaking it to relieve the stinging sensation. Lucy didn't quite know what to do, though she would rather die than be forced to carry that thing's child for whatever Zeref had planned.

Die.

Lucy bent over and grabbed the crumpled sheet, she tried to tie it in a noose. If she could get this around her neck and then catch it around one of the scones on the wall, she could kill herself and not have to endure this. There didn't seem to be any other escape.

As soon as she had a noose, the sheet moved on its own and untied itself. She let out a harsh breath and whispered "fuck". These sheets were pricey and usually only used in nicer asylums and fancy hotels who didn't want their patrons to commit suicide or other acts. For a second, she had a bit of respect for the cunning of Zeref, he thought of everything. Except one thing.

"Mard!" she screamed, and the demon turned around and looked at her. "Kill me."

* * *

Out of everything Mard Geer could think of, this revelation of Zeref was not on any conceivable thought. He thought Zeref was simply punishing him, trying to retrain him to not fail again or was plotting a slow and agonizing death for him. This, impregnating a woman and giving his master the child was beyond his own machinations. Above all why did it have to the Fairy Tail mage that summoned his old foe?

Now she was ordering him to kill her, she had to of been as repulsed about this as he was. Odds were she was more so if she was willing to die than carry his progeny. Then again, why would he ever want to sully his lineage by creating a demonling with a human. Even then…

"I commend the thought, Miss Heartfilia, oh do go, try and kill her Mard," Zeref chided and Mard looked over his shoulder. The dark lord had a grin on his face, the kind of grin that would scare puppies and even make powerful demons like Mard nervous.

"It is a trick, if I harm her, what happens to me?" he asked and Zeref clapped.

Lucy walked towards him and even he could admit that as she moved, she was simply beautiful beyond compare. Her body was the idealistic hourglass men covet, her face was stunning but for him it was her eyes, large and the same color as his beloved coffee. There was an aura of Heaven around her, not necessarily pure goodness but something higher. Mard could feel his heart increase its pace as she drew closer to him.

She nibbled her full bottom lip, "you'd most likely go through severe waves of pain, increasing in accordance to the level of damage you do to me. It would kill you if you kill me."

"Ah, see, beauty can have brains as well, but you know this Mard. I believe many demonesses and women had tried for your attention." Zeref's commentary was not helping, if only he could access his power, but he couldn't, the Curse magic had been sealed.

"Zeref, you will be waiting for a long time. I do not sully myself with human women." he said and noticed how Lucy flinched at his words.

"You think I plan to wait for love and nature to take its course? I am an old man but even I get impatient. Now, ask me what you really want to ask me. This will be the only time I'll allow you to ask, both of you."

"Why him?" Lucy asked first, her voice a bit of a shriek, the anger started rolling off her. Mard understood enough that if their situation was reversed, he would be angry at being thought of as breeding stock for Zeref.

"A demon reaches fertile maturity after 250 years, Mard has been fertile and capable for a while." Mard knew this was true, it had been a fight for decades to not give into his fertile heat and start producing more demons. "Once every roughly 400 years, there is a unique star alignment and a child is born who is blessed by the Celestials as almost one of their own. That child is you, Lucy."

"So, we are capable of having a child, why do you want it? What good is a half breed to you?" Mard asked.

Zeref relaxed in a large black wingback chair, he crossed his legs and looked as if he both amused and bored. A glass of wine appeared in his hand and he sipped it, "The child of the Stars and the Underworld, will have special properties in their blood."

Mard snorted, "sacrifice, then."

Lucy put her delicate hand to her mouth as her eyes became large. He could see her tremble as his words and what was going on became all too real to her. As her frail human mind understood the situation.

"Y-you bastard!" she screamed and as she went running towards the glass. Mard grabbed her. He picked her up and held her as she thrashed and screamed against him. She pledged multiple times that she would die before she gives Zeref what he wanted. He quirked a brow when she went off about some interesting things, she would do to Zeref's intestines if he dared to enter the room.

Mard shook her suddenly, "this is not helping. Calm yourself."

"What are you that hard up, you'd be willing to go along with this?" He dropped her and felt a wash of pain flow over his body, he gritted his teeth and bared it, but that was only a warning, he was sure of it.

"Look at me, do you not think I could not have sexual intercourse anytime I asked for it?"

Lucy's cheeks started to become red, that color spread to her ears and dotted along her chest. It was almost as if she was going to turn into a little rosebud in front of him from all that color on her. She huffed and turned her head; her indignant expression was charming. Mard knelt down next to her, his knee brushing hers, he almost forgot Zeref was watching.

"I am certain it is the same for you, human men must bother you daily," he said as he swept her golden hair off her shoulder.

She let out a soft sigh, "not really. Hey, back off on the charm, I'm not doing this. When I do have kids it's not to be some sicko's sacrifice and..." she looked away her eyes distant, "it will be with a man I love."

"Miss Heartfilia, again, you assume I have time to wait," Zeref said before he let out an audible and dramatic yawn, "I am bored and you two should practice, her fertile cycle is in a few days. I have high hopes that this happens soon."

Mard refocused his attention on Zeref, seeing the smug expression on his face through the glinting glass. "Zeref, if I impregnate her, what happens then?"

"Mard, are you asking me to show you kindness and let you two enjoy the room and comfort while she grows the child?"

"I know better than to ask for kindness," he said as his fingers, of their own accord, grazed along her neck. There was something about Lucy that made him want to touch her. Even as she flinched and tried to move away.

"If she carries your child, for your years of service, despite your most recent failure," the word failure made Mard's eye twitch, "I would allow you both to remain close, there is no reason to return you to that first cell."

"I have your word as a kin to demonkind?" he asked. It was the most solemn promise he could invoke out of Zeref, to not adhere to it would turn him into an enemy of the demons and he would be hunted for it. This was the only card Mard could play to have some assurances over this situation.

"You do, I will treat you both well and when I have what I want, you will go free."

"Both?" Lucy asked.

Zeref chuckled, "Celestials, even more precise with their agreements. Obviously, both of you will go free."

Mard leaned close to Lucy, "this is the best possible outcome for this. We will be treated well and gain freedom when this over. I have been in much worse torture chambers."

She sniffled, "but you don't have to carry the child. It's not your body."

"Is it not? It would be a piece of myself that grows in you. We would have to suffer together, though I acknowledge the deal is most unfair to you." he said, where he was getting this compassion was confusing to him.

It would not surprise Mard if Zeref had performed mental and emotional augmentation magic on him. It would only make Mard more agreeable to Lucy, which would only serve Zeref's purposes, but that didn't quite make sense.

Zeref, technically didn't need them to physically have sex, he could just extract the semen from him and implant it into her. So there had to be another layer to this. A circumstance around how the child came to be? Could it not be artificially created? He did not know and later he would meditate and walk through the massive library of books and scrolls in his head to do his own research.

"This is touching, but, tick tock," Zeref's bored voice entered the room, ending the moment between the two prisoners.

Mard picked her up, enjoying how soft and light she was in his arms and carried her to the bed. Lucy looked defeated, the fire in her coffee colored eyes fading from them as her lips remained neutral. "When Zeref is impatient, it is not a healthy place to be in. He will release the aphrodisiac soon, and I thought you may be more comfortable on the bed."

To his surprise, Lucy began to laugh, her head rolled back as her pink lips parted and the sound echoed around the room. Mard knew that human minds were delicate, but he did not know they were _this_ delicate. Even when he performed torture on human subjects, they took a little longer to crack. Usually near the verge of death or watching horrors from their subconsciousness for days would have the effect.

"Oh Miss Heartfilia, I had the anti-conception device you use removed and the drugs cleansed. I assure you, you can conceive." At Zeref's words, Lucy's laughter turned to tears and Mard not knowing what else to do, held her.

In Infernai, "I will kill you for this."

Zeref replied in the same language, "I do hope so. Mard, word of advice, do not fall in love with the child she will ultimately carry."

Mard wanted to say something to Zeref in response to that but instead he was preoccupied with a crying human. One hand rubbed circles on her soft back and the other held her head as she cried. Mard had never held someone like this and could not remember anyone holding him like this. The only logic was that yes, someone messed with his mind and gave him these new emotions.

A quiet hiss came from the wall and Mard looked around, a pink smoke started to fill the room. Judging by the aromatic, almost pungent scent, Zeref was using a mixture of ginseng, Incubus Root and Succubus Flower. Those two plants would impact both and the ginseng had to be for additional energy. Mard knew two of those ingredients took years to cultivate and grow, which meant Zeref may have always had this plan for the Underworld King.

To grow them you must kill one of each type of the demons, plant the seeds in their sex organs and then bury them in desecrated ground, feeding them once a month with menstrual blood and semen. Once at maturity the plants were not so finicky and could be safely transplanted, anywhere and every three years would produce a harvest. You didn't need much of the plant to produce the desired effects, but if this was going to take a while before she would conceive, Mard reckoned Zeref would have needed at least ten harvests to produce enough gas for a daily spray to last at least six months. At least thirty years, this was his plan for at least that long?

"M-Mard," Lucy whispered. He noticed that her eyes were starting to glaze over, and she was licking her lips as her hands trailed up his arms, "so hot."

She looked different to him, not just a human or another prisoner, no, she looked like everything he ever wanted. He palmed her breast, and she arched her back at his touch, the beautiful bit of soft flesh filled his hand. "Lucy," he purred, almost literally, for demons made unique sounds when in passion, which he assumed humans did too.

"W-want you," she whispered, "take me."

Mard Geer had never had a human lover, let alone a mage, though he could only hope to know how to please her. The aphrodisiac toyed with him mind, forcing him to comply to her demands and his own desire. She licked her lips as her half-lidded eyes looked upon him.

He pressed his lips against hers and she let out a sigh as she grabbed his shoulders, little nails digging into them. It was possessive. Mard closed his eyes as he enjoyed feeling her body against his, their lips molding against each other. Lucy licked his bottom lip, almost confusing him at the action but understanding it nonetheless. He opened for her and she entered the cavern of his mouth. Her tongue coaxed his until they had a gentle rhythm going.

She tasted like Heaven. It was perfect.

Her leg ran up his side as she pushed against him, Mard rolled to his back, the soft silken bedding cradling him. She lifted from him, his tongue still wanting hers as he saw her grab the bottom hem of her risqué slip. Lucy pulled the garment from her and threw it to the floor, Mard sucked in a breath, taking in more of the aphrodisiac.

Lucy was a vision, his own little angel straddling his waist. Her hands ran down her pert and full breasts, down her toned stomach and resting on his abs. She traced along the definitions of his muscles as her hips rolled against his now formed erection. Mard purred as she moved again, and he moved to press more of himself against the heat he could feel through the satin.

She dipped her head down and began to kiss and nip at his collarbone. Mard's hand held her waist as she teased his increasingly sensitive body. Lucy's teeth grazed his nipple and he let out a hiss at the sensation. He had never known that humans were this sensual or purposeful in their movements. Least she was and if that was her or the drugs, he did not care.

Could not care, all he wanted now was to impale her, take her, release his seed into her. Needed to fuck her endlessly and not stop. Not until he had claimed every last bit of the graceful sin that was her body.

"L-Lucy," he said as she moved down his abs and towards his sleep pants. Her fingers hooked under the material and Mard lifted his hips up so she could pull down the fabric.

She moved slowly, as she slid down the bed, the satin and her lips lazily playing along his skin. When she removed the clothing, Lucy leaned forward on all fours, her naked form a vision to be had. She crawled between his legs, moving with purpose. The purpose to drive him wild and his cock twitch, a bead of precum dribbling from the flared head.

Lucy grabbed his member and Mard almost shouted to feel her soft hand wrapped around it. Her tongue glided up along the thick vein before she sweetly licked at the opening. "Sweet," she gave him another lick, "heady," she kissed the tip, "mine," she growled. Her mouth opened and she took him in, his head pushed into the feather pillows as his pelvis arched up desperate to push more of himself into her warmth.

She used her hand and mouth in a fluid motion, coating him in her saliva and testing his ever-losing patience. "Stop teasing," he commanded before he bit his bottom lip trying to stifle his own moan as her tongue swirled around him.

Lucy released his cock, placing a gentle kiss to it before she dragged her tongue up his body. Mard grabbed her shoulders and rolled them over, settling himself between her legs. They exchanged another passionate kiss as he shuffled to his knees and reached between them.

He broke the kiss and slowly started pushing into her body. She was so tight, slick and hot he had never experienced something like this before. Her body was perfection for him, and he fought against the need to take her this instant. He let her adjust to him as his body was flush against her.

"M-Mard…" she whispered as her hands grabbed his forearms, little nails digging in, much as she had done to his shoulders.

He started to move, slow and controlled movements allowing him to feel her completely. Lucy moved her body with him, driving him deeper with each slow thrust. Mard watched her face, noticing how she would only look into his eyes. Nowhere else, nothing else existed around them. Just the look of endless passion in hazy coffee colored eyes.

Her cheeks were flushed with color and her skin broke out in a light sheen as she started chanting his name. This spurred him on and Mard increased his pace, snapping his hips with each movement.

Lucy's legs came up his sides and without thinking he took them in his arms, rolling her up a bit more to experience her deeper. His hands on her hips as he pistoned into her, the bed swaying from the force of movements. Her nails dug into his skin as her words turned to nothing but wanton moans.

"L-Lucy, cum for me," he said as he leaned down and kissed her.

Her channel fluttered around his moving cock, the feeling intoxicating as he pounded into her body. Lucy turned her head to the side, "Fuck! Mard! Oh…" her eyes wrenched shut as her body tightened suddenly. Her face a mixture of pain and pleasure, it was a sight to behold.

It forced his own release and he bit into her shoulder, muffling his cry of her name. His body felt on fire as he spent inside of her, the release as violent and animalistic as he ever felt it. Mard held against her, softly pulsing to ride out the wave of euphoria. All he could think of was how this all felt and how he could not wait to do it again. As she pulled on his hair and forced him into another kiss, he was not the only one who could not wait for more.

* * *

Zeref sipped his wine and watched, he had never seen Mard Geer like this. Never seen the demon display so much emotion into one act. It made him smile, all the work would soon be worth it. Especially all the work to reverse his conditioning of Mard Geer's mind and give the demon his feelings back.

The drugs would stay in their system for the next couple hours and he was certain they would do this several more times. Each time they did, the closer he got to his plans being fulfilled. Each time they would grow closer as their bodies joined. Each time a little more of their emotions would find their way into the act.

Of all the uses for the Underworld King, he had never thought this would be it, not when he met a young Mard Geer hundreds of years ago. At the time he only thought of the demonling's potential for power and how to best use that power for his own needs. Then fifty years ago he found a book and it had given him hope and a new reason to stay close to Mard Geer.

The book had the answer to his eternal problem, a way to remove the Curse of Contradictions. All he had to do was take a bone from the god of life and death, Ankhseram and upon the appointed day and the appointed hour, dip it into the warm heart blood of a virgin of both Celestial and Demon blood. He would devour the blood and bone, recite the ancient magics, and be done with all of this. Zeref could finally live and finally die.

Getting the bone was easy, a raid on Mildian, had uncovered the burial site of the god's previous human host, bits of magic still imbued in the fossil. Discovering a way to make the child, that had taken research and work. The child had to be made naturally, he could not do this clinically. No, it had to be through their bodies, as simple as the Gods designed. He lucked out in that they didn't need to be in love, that even he could not force.

Now, in the bed he watched how the elegant Celestial Summoner rode atop the Definitive Demon. There was something beautiful about this, sacred and profane, working together for their goal of pleasure. Zeref let out a breath and snapped his fingers, the glass turning back into a wall. He adjusted in his seat, surprised that watching the scene would have an effect on him. It mattered not.

He had a year before the day and time would be upon him. Zeref stood up, adjusted his cloak and walked out of his little viewing room. The dark one didn't think he would need to use it again, he was not going to answer any more questions and there was no reason to watch. Then again, he always did like spying on people. Might be interesting to see how well they get along the next day, when he would not use the drug again and they had to deal with reality.

Zeref mulled this over as he walked down the black stone and dimly lit hallway of his castle. Till then, he had a meeting or two to attend. Empires do not run themselves.

* * *

_Questions and Answers:_

_Another story? Yeah, cause reasons._  
_How many chapters will this go? No clue. _  
_How often will it update? No clue. _  
_Is this going to be gratuitous AF? Not nearly as much as you think, you know that whole... tell a fantastic story thing._  
  


_Till then... please, if you enjoy my work and want to give Mard some coffee, **Comment, Kudo, Bookmark!**_

_Up Next - No Way Out _


	2. Morning After

I do not own Fairy Tail, just this plot.

* * *

Lucy woke up to a myriad of different feelings, mostly centered around having one hell of a wild night out. Her head throbbed, mouth was filled with cotton, and she was sore all over as if she just had survived 100 rounds of hate sex. She tried to move, hoping she could summon Gemini to deal with this pain, but a heavy body was pinning her to the bed.

As her wits gathered, she became aware that there was a naked person with her, though who the hell he was. She had no idea. As her world came into focus, all she could see was a mess of wild dark purple hair scatted all over her chest.

Lucy tried to dig her elbows into the soft black silk sheets to push herself up but as she tried, she realized she just had no strength. Instead she looked up at the ceiling and debated her options, as well as try to remember what the hell happened to her.

Last she remembered she was on her way to catch a train, then a creepy laugh and then… nothing.

Well, nothing solid.

All her scattered and hurting like a motherfucker brain could show her were random flashes. The details hazy, just endless snippets of movement, bared skin, and pleasure. To her mind it felt more like she was watching a high-speed choppy porno of her, instead of actually being in said porno. The feeling was disjointed but this morning's effects, were obviously lingering.

What happened from running to the train till now?

Lucy had a few times of trying to keep up with Cana and wound up black out drunk, but this was a new level. It was like she was going for the drinking Olympics but only managed to win the gold for the hangover event. Her imagination decided it would be fun to see herself on a podium with a big gold medal around her neck, wearing some guy's way too large t-shirt as standard walk of shame clothing, while the Fiore national anthem blared across tinny sounding speakers. Her mind was an ass and she giggled at its stupidity.

The man who was draped over her started to move, his nose pressing into her stomach and bonus points for nailing her bladder. Lucy tried to wiggle a little, "um, excuse me?"

He sat up, taking the sheet with him and holy shit, she really wanted to remember last night. Her pick up guy was hot, pale skin over taunt and toned muscles, elegant jawline and as he stretched, she could see quite the morning wood tenting the sheet around his lap. His head turned to look at her, large coal black eyes going wider as his mouth opened. "Who are you?"

"What?" she asked, little miffed that he didn't remember her. Then again, she had no idea who the hell he was.

"Who are you?" he repeated with a healthy layer of sarcasm over his question.

"Well, who the hell are you?" she asked as she sat up much to quickly and felt her brain collide into the front of her skull. Lucy grimaced and clutched her head from the pain.

"Mard Geer Tartaros."

She looked up at him, completely in shock, as she screeched, "what?"

He grabbed his head and doubled over, "not so loud," he hissed. His body tensed as he rocked slowly, for a second, she felt sorry for him, because she hurt like hell too.

Her bladder reminded her that she had to go and realizing that she had no options for a coverup, she slid out of the bed. The room spun a little as she wobbled, almost falling over on the plush carpet under her feet. She held her arms out for balance and noticed over to the side a small bathroom. Lucy carefully and at the speed of snail made her way to it.

As she got in, she pushed closed the heavy wooden door and leaned against it. The light in here relatively dim and her eyeballs were thanking her for it. Lucy did her business, noticing that this bathroom did not have much in it, hardly up to normal hotel standards. The shower was small but outfitted with a nice rain shower head and a sliding glass door. There were small plastic bottles of the usual goods, a brush, two toothbrushes, and some plush black towels. As she looked up from the toilet, she saw two robes on the back of the door and smiled a little.

Lucy washed her hands, face, and grabbed the smaller looking robe, enjoying how soft and lush feeling it was on her battered skin. As the world calmed down, her headache leaving her, and her balance restored a few more bits of her memories came back to her.

Tears streamed down her face as she recalled seeing Zeref and then…

She opened the door and saw Mard sitting on the edge of black bed, he was looking down at his hands. "You raped me!" she shouted.

He looked up at her, completely started for a moment before his eyes lowered and his jaw tightened. "I did not, also do not shout. The drugs have not fully left my system."

Lucy didn't care as she rushed over to him, her hands curled up into little fists, she threw the first punch. It connected to his nose and his head snapped back. A wave of pain hit her, and she doubled over, the reminder that they can't hurt each other without consequences. Mard stood up and grabbed her, his speed more than she was used to handling. She was thrown into the large plush bed and he stood over her, glaring daggers into her as his body tensed.

"How dare you? Do you have any idea of what you just accused me of? How about you? You think I was willing?" His voice had an icy deadly edge to it, one that had Lucy's righteous fury packing up, catching a train, and heading off for the hills. She looked at his face, his eyes wet, and fresh tear tracks down his cheeks.

She bit her lip and looked away, her own tears gathering along the edges of her eyes. Lucy covered her face with her hands and shuddered, curling her body up into a little ball. The bathroom door slammed, leaving Lucy all alone in the scary room and feeling much to guilty over what just said. Muffled growls and curses came from the bathroom right before the shower started.

She pulled up the white down comforter and hid under it, all she could hear was Zeref's cruel detached voice, repeatedly, _impregnate her._

Lucy cried her heart out and screamed into the pillow. She was officially living in her own horror novel. Forced by drugs to have sex with the person she hated most in the world. Forced to be a brood mare for that thing's child. No way out and no one knew where she was. Caged with Mard Geer Tartaros and all for Zeref's sick and twisted needs.

"Welcome to Universe hates Lucy Part 38," she choked out.

* * *

Mard let the hot water wash down his sore and tired body. He held his face into the fake rain and let the memories of the previous day work through his mind. There was nothing solid in the landscape of his mind, just glimpses of movements and feelings.

Feelings. That surprised him to have those things. Feelings were what lesser creatures experienced, not him. He dropped his head as he pressed his curled fists against the tiled shower wall, his wet hair dropping around his face, hiding it from view. Mard Geer shuddered as he kept hearing her scream that he raped her.

His memories were on the contrary to that effect, they took each other with fair amounts of passion. There was no fighting the gas that was used, that blend too potent for even ancient demons like himself to fight. It hurt him to be accused of a high crime. In demon society rape was one of the worse sins to commit, it took away another's free will.

It was how he let the other demons Tartaros act the way they chose, he could lead them and command them, but he had to respect their free will. For humans free will was one of the most sacred gifts they possessed. In the Underworld he had executed many demons for the crime she accused him of. He reckoned that she most likely had no idea until he shouted at her and very gently threw her on the bed before she hit him again.

For his own side of things, he was not willing to bed her either. Sex was a calculation and for some species a necessity in their dealings. There was also the fact that he found humans to be below the majesty of his being. Why would he dare to waste his body and his seed in the off chance of having a halfling? He was still a King and his bloodline would need strength.

This was a Zeref plan but Mard couldn't understand what the end game was. What good would a squalling infant be to the dark lord? What could he gain from its sacrifice and for all that is unholy, why did it have to be him? Why was he already feeling a sense of dread and loss for something not even conceived yet?

Mard felt a subtle shift in the water temperature and decided to finish cleansing himself before it turned frigid. Right now, this glass enclosure was the only privacy he had, and he couldn't be around Lucy. Not if she was going to rake him through the coals for things beyond his control.

He washed his hair, careful of all the knots in it that were caused by not getting a change to braid his hair before he slept. As his fingers brushed against his scalp all he could think of was how her fingers felt when she did the same thing. The light scratching of her nails had been as soothing as it was erotic.

Mard rinsed the cleanser out of his hair and turned off the cooling water. He stood in the steam trapped shower and closed his eyes. He gathered his emotions together and tried to lock them away, but they would not budge. He tried another tactic, taking a few deep breaths and assuring himself that he was not the villain. Not here at least, here he was as much a victim as she was. At the end of all of this, he would lose a child too and that thought disturbed him to no end.

Demonlings were rare, birth rates kept low for the balance of all things. The stronger the demon type, the fewer existed. He would have to trade in his own progeny, his own lineage, for his freedom and he would forever be tied to this Lucy. Mard reminded himself that he had months to sort this out, that he could somehow devise an escape plan. That he could take his future child and heir out of here, he wouldn't need the human for that.

Zeref may have cut off his Curse magic but he hadn't been able to take away his physical gifts, if he planned the surprise attack efficiently, there was a chance. Mard slid open the glass door watching the plume of steam escape and spread out into the small sparsely decorated bathroom. He reached for a black towel and slowly patted his damp skin dry.

As he looked over himself, he noticed the little scratches and bite marks. That little human was more of a vixen than he figured and as he ran his finger tips over the crescent shaped nail marks on his shoulder, he recalled how he got them. His head between her legs, feasting on her essence as she squirmed and incoherently shouted. Her nails dug into his shoulders as she yelled his name to the Heavens and he tasted her orgasm. That taste felt as if it was still on his lips and something about it had excited him, even the memory.

Mard looked down at his slowly waking member and shook his head, willing himself to keep control over his desires. It was difficult to say the least not as more memories of the night flooded in. As he cleaned off the steam on the large mirror, he looked into his own coal black eyes, noticing the slight purple circles under them. This was going to tax every bit of his physical, mental and emotional energy.

The King managed to finish post shower grooming and not seeing much else of an option, he grabbed the fluffy robe hanging on a gold blunt hook. The level of detail Zeref put into the design of this elaborate mating prison was obscene. As he came out of the bathroom, he saw Lucy sitting on the bed, her eyes red and puffy as her lip still quivered. She looked lost in thought and he thought to leave her there.

He made his way to the dresser and started looking through it, not surprised that there was not much. Some undergarments and sleepwear, his clothing was quite mundane, black or grey. The clothing for her was, he wasn't certain if it was clothing. Mard surmised that really all they needed to be here for was to fuck, it was not as if they were going to host dinner parties or something to that effect. He selected black boxers and pants, slipping them on under his robe.

"M-Mard…" Lucy's voice was weak, and he turned around to look at her. She wiped her face with the back of her hand and he quietly padded over to her, his bare feet gliding over the plush red rug.

"Lucy," he took in a breath and stopped speaking. Mard wanted to say something snarky to her but the pain and hopelessness in her face, had stopped him.

"You didn't rape me," she shivered, "I'm sorry I said that."

All the hate and anger in his system left him as he took a seat on the bed. He looked at her and very slowly reached out for her hand, she took his and he ran his thumb against her knuckles. Mard looked into her coffee eyes and gave her small hand a gentle squeeze, "thank you Lucy. I am very sorry you have to suffer through this as well."

"I just don't get it," she sighed as she pulled back her hand and adjusted her robe. Mard realized that the robe was a bit big on her, it was oddly adorable.

"Are you still having memory problems or just unable to understand the depths of Zeref's evil?" Mard asked as he slid back a little and brought his long legs up on the bed to sit cross legged and be able to keep eye contact with Lucy.

"You said sacrifice, I remember that much. I just…" her voice trailed off as she wiped at her eyes with the sleeve of the fluffy robe.

"It is the only thing that makes sense. How is your history of ancient magic?"

Lucy pursed her lips, "could be better," she shrugged, "but overall I would say I know more than the average person."

"Many forms of early magic relied on ceremony and sacrifice. The belief was that the rarer or more precious something was that you sacrificed the results would be better." Mard said as he put his hands on his black clad knees and adjusted his posture to sit up a bit more.

"Not all tribes, at the time, saw it that way. Only three tribes were shown to use actual human sacrifices or ritualistic magic. Many other mages were natural spontaneous casters, which is the kind of magic we have now. The prevailing belief is that they didn't have schools of specialization." There was a twinkle in her eye and a small smile on her features as she spoke and Mard found this side of his companion to be glorious.

"Right, magic used to be wild but as it grew stronger and people worked with it more, the more it ingrained in their souls' DNA. Family lines could pass down certain magic affinities, each generation a little stronger than its predecessor. For Demons, Curse magic works the same way but ours is granted through blood and body, not vessel." Mard added, enjoying the intelligent conversation. He rarely had it with the demons in Tartaros and it was surprising to him how much he was enjoying this moment.

Lucy let out a sharp breath, "whatever Zeref needs to do he has to rely on ancient ritual magic for it. His own natural power isn't enough then. Maybe if we can think of the three tribes that used human sacrifices, we can narrow…" her voice trailed off again and she bit her bottom lip. After a moment she let out a sigh and put her head in her hands.

Mard was confused, they were having a pleasant chat and she suddenly began to cry. He reached out and gently touched her, "Lucy, why are you crying?"

She murmured in her hands and shook her head before looking up at him. Tears wetted her cheeks and flowed from the out corners of her brown eyes, "w-what's the point? So, what if he we know how he plans to sacrifice our child? It's still going to happen." Her voice was raised at the end, a strangled cry escaped her as she cried harder.

Mard wasn't exactly what to do, so he made the logical guess that holding her and providing some form of comfort might help her human emotions. He uncrossed his legs and scooted over to her, opening his arms he pulled her against him. There was something warm and beautiful about holding the weeping woman, it confused him as much as it gave him pleasure to offer her this. Lucy's tears splashed against his chest as he rested his cheek on the top of her head and held her.

"It matters because many of those spells had particular astronomical events tied to them. If we can understand the time frame, we know how long we have…" he pursed his lips and picked up his head. Mard scanned the room and didn't see anything, that didn't mean Zeref wasn't listening. At this point, Zeref needed them alive and capable of copulating, so that meant Mard could speak as free as he dared.

"Before our child is sacrificed."

Lucy stopped her weeping and pulled back, she looked at him, "which means there's a chance?" Mard could see the hope in her eyes and hear it in her question.

He nodded, "we may have a small chance to stop the entire thing and save the child we would be forced to have."

"Y-you would do that?" she asked, and he quietly cupped her cheek, surprised that she let him comfort her.

"Demonlings are rare and our child would be the next in line for the Underworld monarchy. I have to," he said, not knowing any other way to answer that than with the basic details. It would be difficult to answer her emotionally, since there was no demonling for him to connect and bond with.

Lucy blinked and then pushed his hand away from her soft wet face, Mard didn't like the movement. He wanted to keep touching her, it was odd and foreign to him to feel this way. There was just something unique about the Celestial mage, as he was seeing her bloom a bit more for him.

"So, it's just because our child would be your royal heir?" she asked, and he almost flinched from the acid in her voice.

"Lucy, I do not know how else to answer that. You are asking a multi century demon who has had zero emotions for years to give you an emotional response to something that has not happened yet."

"Oh," she gave a nervous chuckle and wiped her face with her sleeve again, "least you're honest, I guess."

"What good is lying? I can troll people better with the truth. Also, the truth always has a way to come out in the end."

"You're so strange Mard," she said as she smiled at him. There was something soothing about her smile and Mard found himself returning it before he started chuckling at her little statement.

"Indeed, but so are you."

* * *

Cobra wasn't certain what the fuck he was doing in this town but when Blueballs said go there, he went. Applegate was a tiny little farming village about a day's train from Era. That was as close to the fucking capital as he wanted to go, being a wanted criminal and all that. He hitched up the collar on his white jacket and stayed off the main streets judging by the fact that they were paved, as he went through the town.

The amount of information he had about this he could put on a bubble gum wrapper. She'd been missing about 36 hours, as far as anyone knew. Apparently chica was on point with getting her paperwork in and that's how they knew there was a problem. Oh, and said missing mage was very crazy and gorgeous big titty Lucy Heartfilia. AKA Sunshine of his little black soul. That chick was the right kind of insane, the kind that laughed at torture and looked damn good in a mini skirt.

Okay, so it's not normal to think of a girl in terms of how much torture she could endure, but this was him. He should really get with his own program. He sniffed the air and managed to pick up a faint scent of strawberries and something from outer space. Cobra walked around the dirt side street, ignoring the hayseeds who were looking at him funny. Not his fault he's fucking hot, dipshits.

He pulled out a pack of smokes from his inner jacket pocket, looking at the blue and gold label before flipping open the lid. Fuck, he had three left. The nice thing about a cig was that it was a fantastic hit of poison and he hoped this town sold more of his favorite brand. Some brands were just shit and not even going to think about it a little more he pulled out a cig, put the pack away and reached into his black jeans for the cheap purple lighter.

Cobra still moved towards the faint scent as he lit his smoke and let the cig hang from between his lips. He overheard some people speaking and stopped before coming around the corner.

"There's some residual magic here, teleportation I think," a man's rough voice said, and Cobra arched a brow as he listened. This was gonna save him a little of his own braincell.

"Fuck, that means they could be anywhere," a slightly nicer sounding voice said.

"Judging by the scuff marks and this discarded whip, I'd say we have a kidnapping. Let's get back to HQ. Maybe call one of those guilds and see if we can get a more detailed magic report." The gruff voice said, and Cobra couldn't exactly let them go. He knew a mage who knew a mage who knew a shady piece of shit that could work with that whip.

"Fuck," Cobra whispered as he took another drag of his cig and came around the corner. He saw two Rune Knights, kind of reminded him of Abbot and Costello, one was big and the other kind of thin and dopey, standing there.

The Rune Knights stared at him for a second before he released his poison. They tried to turn and run for it but this fucking knockout blend, oh hell no bitches. He designed this one to knock out Blueballs so he could go and do shit without the boss being aware. Like banging hoes or randomly robbing a place for some cash, so they could fucking eat.

The Rune Knights crumpled to the ground and Cobra skipped through the alley, flicking his cig away before he bent over and grabbed the whip. He took a sniff of the air making mental notes on what could still be detected, and he'd sift through that info later. The brown leather whip was the last thing she held before being taken away, that meant it was going to have the clearest resonance to it for a tracking spell. Now he was going to have to remember where that fucker who can't play cards lived again.

Either way, he was going to go save Sunshine and not just cause Blueballs told him to. Cause he's a good guy, if ya didn't get the memo. He put the whip in his coat pocket and promptly rummaged the Rune Knights for any loose Jewels, which he scored a couple hundred. It would be enough to get him a train ticket south.

So, he could go deal with shady dude who knows shady dude, but in this case, he may have a better solution. Last he heard a certain blonde-haired pretty boy and his groupies were at Blue Pegasus. The only person of interest, Greenie McPosh, the Rune mage was a bad ass motherfucker with some Runes. Also, Cobra may have wanted to go see that blonde pretty boy, but that's a whole other story. For now, he needed to get a team together, and a team that cared about Sunshine would be better.

He walked down the street for a few minutes, keeping his demeanor as if he didn't just knock out and rob two Rune Knights. Cobra found a little dilapidated convenience store with cheap booze and cheap smokes, also the most horrendous unsafe cleaning products, which was going to be fantastic on the train. He loved this dingy little barely legal shops, they had all the high-end poisons. Being kind, he paid for shit and then took off for the train station, figuring he had about fifteen minutes before the guards woke up and went after his fine caramel ass.

It was enough time to buy a train ticket and hide out in the outlying forest while the Rune Knight came to, gathered their wits, and tried looking for him. Cobra was on a mission and he'd be damned if he failed.

* * *

Lucy couldn't help but chuckle, there was something soothing about being around Mard. When she wasn't going through a mass pile of emotions or being drugged to fuck him. She was almost willing to bet that if they met any other way, before he caused his damage to the people she loved. They might have been friends.

"Now, are you finished with your emotional outbursts?" he asked, and Lucy scrunched her nose at him as he playfully swatted his shoulder. She didn't get any pain through her, which was good, she wasn't looking to hurt the guy.

"Mard, I think we have to work on your decorum, there are nicer ways to treat a lady," she said.

He pursed his semi full lips, lips Lucy was trying to not think about, but her libido was failing her at that one. Instead she could still almost feel them on her skin, and she shivered a little at the thought of the orgasms he elicited out of her by way of his mouth. He sniffed the air and looked at her, "how are you excited?"

Lucy felt the burning of her embarrassment rise up her cheeks and to her ears as he looked at her. It just absolutely figured that he would have heightened senses, cause why not make this more difficult? Also, all those images and feelings from their drug induced sex kept filtering into her mind and damn they were hot. She took in a deep breath, and released it slowly, "how is it you're not having flashes of everything that happened last night going on through your head?"

"I am, I just can control my responses better," he said as Lucy licked her bottom lip and tilted her head a little. She supposed it made sense and odds were as a King he probably had demonesses lining up to keep his bed full. Even Lucy could admit, for a demon Mard Geer was beautiful to look at.

She waved her hand in the air, dismissing this rabbit hole of a conversation. It was only going to lead to more red cheeks and his snark. "So, back to our conversation…" her words were cut off by the rumbling in her stomach. It reminded her that she hadn't eaten in a while.

As she thought about food there was a power in the room and suddenly the small bar height table was covered in food. Mard took Lucy's hand as he looked back towards the back wall. The wall Zeref could turn into glass to monitor them, Lucy remember that bit of magic. They both eyed the wall and then Mard got out of the black bed. He walked over to the table and picked up a chicken leg. He sniffed it, then tapped his tongue to it and waited a moment before he took a bite. To Lucy the food was starting to smell amazing and her tummy grumbled again.

She got out of the bed and made her way across the soft carpet towards the feast. "Chicken, it appears safe." Mard said and Lucy gave him a nod as she took a seat and started putting various veggies, fruits and meats on her plate.

She examined the silverware, surprised that Zeref let them have it or food with bones. As she lifted the fork, she noticed how light it was, damnit, it was made of plastic and she frowned. Mard sat at the other end of the tiny table and started by putting his napkin in his lap. Lucy thought his manners were on point and she grabbed the cream paper napkin next to her plate and did the same.

They ate in silence, well as much silence as two ravenous people could manage. Lucy suspected that Mard may have been starved for a while, judging by how he tore into half the chicken in under a minute. She noticed he didn't touch the plastic decanter of wine, instead he hugged the coffee carafe to his chest and smiled at it. Lucy couldn't help but giggle at the moment, it made him seem normal to her.

"Coffee huh?" she asked as she munched on a fat piece of broccoli.

"It is my life blood," he said as he poured himself a cup, "I am sorry, but I am going to take all of this."

Lucy smiled and shook her head, "that's fine. I figure one day we might be friends enough for you to share."

Mard swallowed his coffee and blinked at her, "friends?" Lucy noticed he was shocked and confused by her admission.

"Mard, we're going to be here for a while. It's not going to make sense to keep being enemies. We are going to need each other." She said as she took a sip of the wine and then was disappointed when she realized it was only fruit juice.

"Lucy has anyone ever complimented your mind?" he asked before he grabbed a cube of cheese and popped it in his mouth.

Lucy smiled and looked down at her plate, noticing that it was almost completely clear. She pushed at a red grape with her fork before plucking it with her fingers. "Not really," she replied before chewing on the fruit.

"It is a good train of thought. We are both prisoners of Zeref's hell, might as well form an alliance." Mard dabbed the paper napkin at the corners of his mouth.

"We should clear the air, I hope you know that I hate the fact I lost my mother's Aquarius key for you. Also, you and your demons killed people I cared about."

"I do hope you know that I thoroughly despise Pompous Ass and was quite annoyed at dealing with him. Jackal blew up the Magic Council, not me. My technical body count against Fairy Tail is zero." He said and Lucy almost dropped her glass of juice.

"Pompous Ass? You mean Stache Face?" she asked, a bit surprised by the name. Though it did fit, the guy could certainly be pompous and an ass on occasion.

Mard chuckled, "Stache Face, it about sums up his appearance. Being a Planar Ruler, we crossed paths several times. There is no love between us, especially not since the little competition about hundred years ago."

Lucy knew her eyes had to be as big as dinner plates by now as Mard talked. There was so much more to this demon than she realized, and she surmised that she had better get to know him. Afterall they were expected to be prisoners, sex partners, parents, and survivors together. "Okay, I think you better tell me everything."

"Do you not want to figure out Zeref's plans for our eventual child?" he asked, and Lucy appreciated his ability to keep to important things.

"I do but, you started this can of worms." Lucy smiled at him as he poured out the last of the coffee. "I have to know all about why you call The Celestial Spirit King, Pompous Ass and this competition and also what do you mean Planar Ruler?"

"Your mind does not stick to one thing at a time and in proper order does it?" he inquired, and Lucy chuckled.

"Nope, welcome to life with a human woman."

Mard swallowed his coffee and set down the white boring little cup before he did, what Lucy could only describe, as the most elegant looking facepalm. There was a fluidity to his movement and the way he curled his hand slightly over his eyes before shaking his head. She watched how a few water drops came down from his still wet hair and he flicked his hand out to chase them off.

"If I answer your next three questions, can we go back to more pressing matters? There are many years of history and ideas we need to unpack and sift though. Our time is limited." He stated and Lucy did her best to suppress the chuckle at his deadpan and baritone voice.

"Deal," she said, standing up and walking around the table to shake his hand. He took her hand and she noticed how his eyes bounced down and then he looked away. Lucy saw that her robe was open a little, giving him a peak of cleavage, she didn't mean to flash him. It's not like she had clothing options that weren't sex doll clothes.

Mard waved his hand and Lucy got the hint, "Planar Ruler?"

"Underworld is a Plane of Existence, a middle ground between Earth Land and Hell. Demons of various types, not dark enough for Hell, live there. It is a plane with a dim sun and a bright night. I have been the ruler for roughly two centuries, after I claimed it in a long bloody war." Mard took in a breath, "before you ask, and I will give this to you for free. I did it to have a place, I thought, where I would be free of Zeref. I was wrong."

Lucy almost felt her brain explode at that bit of information. She was in awe of how complete and detailed his answers were, to her she felt like he was really someone she could talk to. It almost, for a split second, made her forget about the fact they were in a hotel prison cell. Though she also had a million more questions about demons, life there, what was the climate like and so on, but she could figure those out later.

"What's the story with you and Stache Face?" she asked.

Mard shook his head, "every fifty years Planar Rulers come together for a conference. We make it sound official, but it is three days of blowing off steam and having a lark. Pompous Ass and I did not like each other since the first time we met. I could not tell you why that it is. All I know is that he looked at me, murmured something inelegant, and the rivalry began from there. The apex of it hit when he lost to me in a dancing competition, thanks to one Leo the Lion's accidental spilling of wine."

"Wait, you don't lie but that doesn't sound like Stache Face to do something like that." She said feeling a bit shocked at Mard's story, it just seemed so unlike the Celestial Spirit King.

"I have not lied and if it was possible, I would tell you to summon Mr. Kitty to verify the story. Also…" Mard quickly shut his mouth and stood up, maneuvering around the wooden stool. Lucy watched how he started pacing, almost mumbling to himself for a few moments. She took a sip of her juice and once the glass was finished, she noticed how everything on the table disappeared. Her magic and his magic were cancelled in the room, but anyone else's still worked? Then again, it would make the most sense, otherwise they would have to risk people to clean the room or serve them food.

The food was tasty, she had never come across that spice mixture before, so it was one more clue as to where she was exactly. Not that that information would be useful, but it might be when they had to figure out where to go to save their eventual child. Lucy watched how Mard did another circuit around before he stopped and looked at her. It was a fleeting tick across his features, but Lucy could recognize an "aha!" moment anywhere.

"You. It was you. He knew, back then, before you were born."

"What?" Lucy stood up and walked over to him, she didn't think about much as she reached out and touched his bicep.

"What Pompous Ass said to me. He said in Celestine, which yes, I speak that language, and I quote. You are a pathetic demon covered in blood who I will make sure my future star child never meets you because she cannot be yours."

Lucy's mouth fell open as she grabbed the lapels of his robe, "wait, what?"

Mard smirked at her, "third question it is then." Lucy looked down, huffed, felt a small bit of rage inside of her before it melted into laughter. Mard was good, she thought she was excellent with contracts and deal, but the demon had taken her to her word. She almost applauded him for it.

As she stood there chuckling before she looked up at the demon. Mard looked amused as he looked down at her, for a few seconds Lucy almost forgot where they were or what the fuck was going on. There was something about being in his presence that just agreed with her and Mard gently touched her cheek, in a way to where Lucy thought he was going to kiss her. Instead he leaned down, his mouth by her ear.

"Pompous Ass knew that a Celestial, a future star child as he calls them, would be my mate. Here you are, the only Celestial Mage I have ever been receptive to."

Lucy gulped and looked up at him, "do I want to know how you treat the ones you aren't receptive to?"

Mard chuckled lightly, "I believe you call it trolling." At that Lucy couldn't help but laugh beside her fellow prisoner and very handsome demon. "That was also four, back to our original conundrum."

Mard stepped away from her and Lucy caught her breath trying to put her thinking cap back on. "Alright, you win, what do we know about tribes that used human ritual sacrifices." She started looking around for something to take notes with, noticing how Mard was doing the same thing. After a few minutes they both came back empty handed, and she groaned.

Lucy was wishing for some quill, ink and paper, something to write with. Hell, she'd take a box of crayons and paper. At that moment there was a pulse of magic in the room and looking over at the table there was a box of crayons (non-toxic) and reems of paper. Her and Mard looked at each other in confusion for a bit before he cleared his throat.

"My needs are small, since your needs cannot be fully accounted for, I bet this table can grant your wishes, within some limitations. Nothing that could be used as a weapon or things of that nature." He said and Lucy nodded.

"Is there anything Zeref didn't think of?" she asked as she went over to the table and sat back down, grabbing a black crayon and a piece of blank paper.

"Yes," Mard said as he came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. Lucy tensed for a second, out of reflex but quickly relaxed as he gently massaged them. "That you are much more cunning than you look. Also, the very real possibility that we may get along, which allows for us to have an alliance."

"I think demons who compliment me well deserve a treat," she said as she wished for another silver carafe of coffee and two mugs. To her surprise Mard kissed the top of her head and let go of her as he went and poured them two fresh cups. Apparently, in prison Lucy had a superpower… getting coffee to Mard Geer Tartaros.

* * *

_ **and the story continues...** _

_ **As always please comment, kudo and bookmark!** _

_ **Up Next - Another Dose** _


	3. Another Dose

_Do not own Fairy Tail, own this plot and will totally blame GemNika for part of this chapter. She'll know exactly which part LOL_

* * *

Mard was sipping his coffee as Lucy was in the bathroom handling her morning needs. By his calculations they had been here five days. Those five days were not tortuous, as per any normal definition of the word. Instead they were filled with banter, a few laughs, learning and a few quiet moments of just being in the same room. It was odd for him to be in this kind of situation but despite the fact that Lucy had nightmare problems, it wasn't horrible.

The first time she had woken up screaming in the middle of the night, Mard thought his ears would start bleeding. All he could do was try to soothe her with soft words and hold her. It took several minutes before she started to calm down and was able to articulate her nightmare. The dream had been more of a memory to her, how she lost her mother and Mard didn't know how to navigate such an ordeal. He had no memory of his own demon parents and so could only listen. Despite her tears and fear, she held on to him until she whimpered herself back to sleep. He never got back to sleep that night, instead letting her cuddle up against him as she needed.

Mard Geer enjoyed the cuddling, he could admit that, but her tears were unenjoyable. There was much to Lucy that was enjoyable, her mind, her laughter, and the fact she could control the coffee supply. She had even teased him that if he was going to be a naughty demon, she would take away his coffee privileges. She thought it was funny, he thought it was the cruelest thing imaginable. No coffee? Vile concept.

The door clicked open and Lucy walked out in the usual black robe that was a little too large on her. Her hair was wrapped up in a black towel as she had a fresh glow to her cheeks from the heat of the bathroom. She sat on her wooden stool and sipped her coffee as her brown eyes closed, and she enjoyed it. Mard went back to reviewing the notes from their previous working session. He found the little doodles and extra comments she would make in the margins to be useful and comical.

"What shall we do today?" she asked as she set down the plain white cup and gathered up the papers on the table. Mard had discovered that Lucy had a compulsion for tidiness, keeping their notes organized and neatly piled on the coffee table. It also meant she was going to summon food for them. He hoped she would have those pancakes made again, he liked those.

"I want to explore this note you have here, life God," he said. Mard's knowledge of human religion was small, he often didn't care what they prayed to. Though it was important for this research, as many ancient religions used some form of deity as the believed source of their magic.

"Ankhseram, God of Life and Death, I came across a mural to him at a dark guild's hideout. They were…" Lucy paused as her eyes went wide for a moment before she snapped her fingers, "making sacrifices to him, trying to resurrect him. Could that be it?"

"All Gods are dead, it is possible," Mard said as he tried to pour another cup and realized the carafe was out. He smiled at Lucy and she laughed as she closed her eyes and before he knew it the table was filled with breakfast food and this time 2 carafes of coffee. One he noticed was down by her, also there was a stack of pancakes in the center of the table.

"What do you mean all Gods are dead?" she asked as she started taking her portion of food. Mard helped himself to a few pancakes and some bacon, waiting patiently for the syrup as Lucy poured it all over her small stack.

"It is a thought exercise, when all the Gods are dead, where do humans learn morality?" Lucy stopped pouring and looked at him, she passed over the syrup and Mard took it. "Thank you. The problem is that there have been enough generations of humans where laws and society have shaped morality, so the Gods are not needed. Can humans be moral without divine punishment, such as a divine curse or their soul not getting eternal rest or is punishment at their own hands in life, enough?"

"Scientifically speaking, after life and so on is all bullshit. So yes, we do just fine without Gods." She said and he quirked a brow at the bit of acid to her tone.

"This is about your mother, is it not?" he asked as he took a bite of pancake. Their morning conversations were fascinating, as were their post breakfast ones, their lunch time stories and dinner. In fact, Mard couldn't think of another person he had talked to so much. There was something about Lucy and he suspected it might be tied into the fact she may very well be the other half of his being.

"Maybe a little, my mother was wonderful, there was no reason for a divine being to come and take her away. Also, never seen proof of Heaven." She shrugged as she picked up a piece of fruit and nibbled on it.

"Heaven is overrated, no humans actually go there. It's all Angels and their social hierarchy, which I did not enjoy my only visit there for conference. The few Angels I have met were dicks," Mard said, to which Lucy covered her mouth, struggled for a moment and then began to laugh. For a second, he was worried she was choking, and he would need to go save her life against a traitorous piece of melon.

When Lucy finally stopped laughing, he noticed that her towel had fallen off her head, leaving her damp blonde hair a mess. It was a charming look to her, he enjoyed it more than he should admit and found himself wanting to get up and kiss her for being this amusing. He gave himself an internal berating for the wayward thought and refocused on his breakfast.

"Seriously? They are supposed to be the good guys," she said.

Mard grumbled, "and demons the bad guys, believe me, I have heard it all."

"In all fairness you were a very bad demon."

"Were?" He arched a brow as he looked at her while she pushed around her food with the plastic fork.

"It's been a few days, I guess you can always change my mind," she shrugged, "though really you aren't what I expected."

Mard lifted his white coffee cup in salute to her, "you defy my expectations as well, Lucy." She raised her cup and they each took a sip, Mard liking the moment for its honesty. Being open with his thoughts and feelings around her was easy. Sometimes he wondered what she was thinking and missed his telepathy for moments like that.

They finished breakfast in comfortable silence and when it was finished the plates and left-over food was immediately cleared away. Lucy had given him another carafe of coffee as they wandered over to the plush white chairs around the dark wood coffee table. It was their usual chatting area, where they could be comfortable. Lucy would curl up in the chair with a soft pink blanket she had requested and Mard would stretch his legs out, propping his feet on the table.

"Lucy would you mind giving me a few moments to meditate?" he asked.

"Mental Library?" she asked and Mard nodded. He kept the great many years of his life into a mental library that only he could access through meditation and visualization. Anything he had read or witnessed he also kept in storage there and depending on how far back he would have to go, he could access things in a few seconds or several hours. The God she mentioned had pulled a memory for him and he needed to follow it.

"One day you need to teach me that trick," she said with a soft smile as she picked up her book that was wedged between the arm and the cushion.

"I will," he said as he closed his eyes and started working through the mental walk to the library.

* * *

Mard was such a strange demon he was a gentleman, snarky as fuck, randomly kind and irrevocably sexy. If this whole situation wasn't a shit show and the fact, he tried to kill her friends, Lucy would have considered banging his brains out.

He relaxed in the chair as he started his meditations into his own mind. The first time he discussed the mental library with her, she thought he was full of it until he started reading verbatim, _Celestine Principals: A Study of the Evolution of Star Magic_, without there even being a copy of it available in the room. He even knew the freaking author's dedication and original publication date, it was crazy. After that she didn't doubt him again and so when he went into this mode, she went back to reading a pregnancy book.

It was slightly disturbing that the only books allowed here were books on parenting, pregnancy, human medicine and demon physiology. Lucy thought the books on parenting were just plain cruel, especially not since they were expected to hand over their child for their freedom. She felt the tears gather along her lower lashes and she wiped them away quickly.

Lucy wanted to believe it when Mard said they had to know when Zeref would need the child for sacrifice so they could hopefully have time to rescue their child. That surprised the hell out of her that he would care about the child. Then again he was so damn different for a demon and even then her knowledge of demons was very tiny.

The book in her hands was dry and she was having a hard time staying awake to read it. It just droned on and on about body hormone changes and the increasing amount of tissue and weight she would gain. She felt like she was reading a doctor's manual. Lucy did start to ask the question if any of this would apply to her since she'd be carrying a "demonling".

It was just another thing that she was learning about demons from Mard, the way he used certain words and seemed to have an issue with contractions. The way he spoke almost reminded her Freed, she bet those two could play one hell of a game of chess against each other. The page started to look blurry as a tear formed in her eye to think of her nakama.

Lucy swiped at her eye and sniffled a little, trying to get a handle on her emotions. Would this have happened if Fairy Tail had not disbanded and she was alone? Maybe she should have joined another guild like Blue Pegasus. Heck she could have tracked down Crime Sorcerie and bummed around with Cobra. Which that would have been hilarious, the poison slayer was insane and holy shit she bet him and Mard would have one epic roast battle.

Lucy smiled, it was strange that in a few days of getting to know him she already saw how he could fit in her world. Though if he is a king of his own plane, why would he stay here? She bet he wouldn't. He'd probably take their child and disappear. Her hands clutched at the book as her lips came down in a frown and her jaw tightened. She was getting angry over a hypothetical and wasn't certain if she more upset over Mard leaving her or taking their child.

As she let out a sharp breath two hands came over hers and slowly peeled them away from the pages, she was crumpling in their death grip. Lucy looked up and saw Mard kneeling before her, his face etched in concern.

"One of my powers was telepathy, I no longer have the skill. What has upset you?" he asked as he took the book from her and set it on the coffee table next to one of the stacks of notes. Mard's gaze came back to hers and Lucy felt like an idiot.

"Nothing," she whispered not even looking into his coal black eyes.

"Lucy, I have been very tolerant, have I not?" Lucy was surprised by the question but managed to give him a nod for a response. "Then why do you lie to me?"

She pushed her hair out of her eyes and let out a soft breath. "I was thinking that if we manage you to save our child you would…" Lucy turned her head to look away but Mard grabbed her chin and brought her right to looking at him.

"Abandon you and run back to the Underworld?" he asked, his voice a whisper. There wasn't any real emotion in his face, it was almost unreadable, but she caught the subtle down turn of his mouth.

Lucy nodded and Mard let go of her chin, he stood up and put his hands on the arms of her chair. He loomed over her, his eyes narrowing and his jaw tight as he glared at her. She could feel the rage slowly coming from him and she swallowed hard.

"We have not even come to that point and already you think so ill. Why?" His words were crisp, accented with a small growl behind them. Lucy almost wished he would have yelled, it would be easier to deal with. Then again except for when she called him a rapist, he hadn't yelled at her. It also made sense that he was trying to build an alliance so they could get through this ordeal and then after it was all done, just revert to being the monster she knew he was.

"This alliance is temporary, once we are free, you can treat me anyway you like. You can go back to your little Underworld and forget all of this," she said feeling her own anger as the pessimism started building stories in her head.

Mard shoved at the chair and stormed away from her, Lucy sucked in a breath glad to not be under his crushing presence. She could hear him mumble in Infernai, his native language and had zero clue what he was saying. Lucy looked over at the coffee table, seeing a piece of paper with a few words on it and the crayon sitting on top. Mard must have set it down to tend to her while in the midst of recording whatever he got out of his mental library.

"You are fertile, is anger a common trait?" Mard asked softly and Lucy turned around, looking over the back of the white plush chair to see Mard standing next to the little magic table.

Lucy paused for a moment and pursed her lips, thinking of the days and trying to figure out a quick calendar. She grabbed fresh paper and a blue crayon and started making a calendar. As she worked, she circled the date and her eyes went wide. This was her time for ovulation and all the hormones that came with it. "Yes."

Mard walked back over to her and took the piece of paper, he studied it for a moment. "We should draft a year calendar and mark the dates for your cycle. Least then it will help us both with trying to not degrade into senseless arguments that solve nothing."

"That's a good idea," she agreed and Mard gave her a small smile before he glanced back at the magic table. Lucy chuckled and wished for more coffee for him, he patted her shoulder as he went to go get his precious elixir.

Lucy was still working on the calendar as Mard was making his own notes and sipping coffee. "Thank you Mard, you managed to diffuse that before I went all ovulation crazy."

He nodded, his dark purple locks swaying lightly in the movement, "I once had to work out a Peace Accord between rage demons and orcs, handling one woman's hormonal cycle is nothing."

"I think you should tell me that story during dinner," she said as she started on the fourth month.

"Tonight, is your night for dinner story time, tomorrow then," he said.

"How sweet, you have found a way to get along," Zeref's voice washed over the room and Lucy tensed up, the dread of his presence making her heart race and chest constrict. "I see you also figured out how the table works, looks like you're having fun."

Lucy couldn't look over her shoulder, instead she just focused her attention on Mard, who was staring hard over her shoulder. The Dark Mage chuckled and Mard stood up, to her surprise he came over to her and held out his hand. Lucy got the message; most likely they were going to be drugged again and he would want to fuck in the bed for comfort.

She didn't bother to look up from watching her pale feet walk across the red plush rug, she just didn't want to see Zeref gloating. Lucy was trying to make this work, but his presence just reminded her of the kind of hell she was in. Mard sat on the bed and Lucy joined him, sitting with her back turned to the viewing wall. Mard made a quiet motion with his hand, pointing at his eyes and she knew to only stare at him.

"Zeref this is unnecessary," he said as he took her hand.

"Which part do you find unnecessary, Definitive Demon?"

"The conversation. Release the aphrodisiac and be on your way," Mard replied his words making Lucy flinch.

There was clapping before Zeref started laughing, the sound sending chills up Lucy's spine. "Interesting how he still thinks he has power to order people. What do you think of him Lucy?" Zeref asked and Mard put a slim finger to her lips and gently shook his head.

"Do not answer him, do not let him get in your head," he whispered, and Lucy gave the tiniest of nods.

"Trying to protect her, your programming is working well then."

"Huh?" Lucy asked, forgetting to not talk under the shock of what Zeref just said.

"Ignore him," Mard commanded and Lucy nibbled her bottom lip as she searched his black eyes. She recalled a few days ago he said that he only recently had emotions. He also made mention of how he believed she may be his mate based on something Stache Face said to him once. Since then he hadn't really said anything, but she did notice just how kind he was towards her, acting as if it was instinct to treat her well. A vast departure from how he treated her nakama and tried to destroy magic.

Lucy was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't hear or even care about the words Mard and Zeref exchanged. It also dawned on her that it shouldn't matter if Zeref changed Mard and if so, he had done her quite the service. As she worked through it, she realized that she did like the demon she was caged with.

As she looked up at Mard, he was still scowling at Zeref, she squeezed his hand and he looked at her. "Mard, take your own advice, ignore him. It's okay."

He let out a breath and let go of her hand to gently touch her cheek, Zeref cackled in the background. A quiet hiss came through the room and Lucy wouldn't look anywhere but in Mard's eyes. They both took deep breaths and started removing their robes, she felt cold and awkward sitting on the bed naked.

Mard removed his black lounge pants and boxers, tossing them on the ground as he sat still and just kept looking at her. Lucy noticed how his eyes were becoming glossy and he licked his lips several times. Her body was heating up at the world felt fuzzy and all she could think of was how badly she needed to be touched and to touch the handsome well-built demon across from her.

"I am sorry for this," he whispered as Lucy felt the last of her lucidity drain from her mind.

"I know," she replied as the uncontrollable hunger started toying with her thoughts and she quickly lunged at the naked demon across from her on the black silk.

Like before Lucy couldn't stop the desire racing through her veins, her mind on one track, take him. His kiss was powerful as their tongues danced along each other, hands roaming all over each other touching every bit of exposed flesh they could. His fingers teased her pearl, making Lucy shiver as she wrapped her slim hand around his large cock.

Her other hand carded through his dark plum locks as they pleasured each other, and he continued to dominate her mouth with his. There was no stopping the pleasure and fire that coiled low in her belly as her hips rocked in time with their hand movements. Lucy threw her head back as she let out a long wanton moan that had no coherent words attached to it. Mard purred at her as he came forward and nestled himself between her creamy thighs.

It was a pause, as his glossy and slightly red eyes peered into hers and his face relaxed. Somewhere in her mind she could feel more from him than the unbridled lust taking over. Mard tilted his hips back and slowly entered her, forcing a small scream to pull from her lips. The burning as she stretched to accept him was beautiful in its pain and pleasure. When his pelvis was flush with hers, they resumed a devastated kiss as her legs tightened around his waist.

His tongue thrust in and out of her mouth as her nails bit into his strong shoulders. Their bodies joined in this moment, Lucy thought she felt something for the demon King but dismissed it as nothing but the aphrodisiac. In her addled mind all she could think of was feeling the pleasure and taking all his seed into her.

Mard started to move, long and purposefully strokes that would end with a sharp tilt of his hips. He grabbed one of her breasts and pinched her nipple, making Lucy gasp under the small bit of pain. A bit of pain that had her more excited than before and she craved more of his touch.

"M-Mard," she moaned as he nipped her collarbone and continued to piston into her. The bed creaked a little as she felt the silk glide under her body, moving them a bit further down the bed.

Her mad another sound from deep in his throat as he started whispering in Infernai against her neck. She had no idea what he was saying between the sharp intakes of breath he had as their pleasure and the drugs increased in their system.

Her clit began to tingle as hellfire and ecstasy shot through her body. Lucy resisted the urge to close her eyes as Mard looked down upon her as he moved, his strong hands holding her shoulders tight. As her orgasm hit her and her channel began to milk him, Mard called out her name before a single tear fell out of his eyes and hit her cheek.

It was then when Lucy understood, this was more than hell and the once emotionless Mard Geer was suffering in their euphoria. Had it not been for the overwhelming desire to keep going, Lucy would have cried with him.

* * *

Cobra stood in front pink stone and blue domes Blue Pegasus building, seriously questioning his life choices. Out of all the places to have to put up with, why the fuck would Laxus and team pick this hideous place? He shrugged, deciding to not really give two fucks (two more than he would ever give) and walked up the white stairs towards the large ornate door with a heart on it.

He was also glad he liked sugar and wasn't a candidate for diabetes, cause this place looked like it would give a normal person a case of it on impact. Who the fuck builds such a place like this?

"Yo, what do you want?" a deep and rough voice called out from above him. Cobra looked up and saw Laxus standing on the balcony above the front door. Damn dude looked pretty good with the sunlight glinting off his blonde and messy hair and tight purple shirt wrapped over his muscles.

Cobra reached into the inner pocket of his white coat and pulled out Sunshine's whip. "Lucy Heartfilia was kidnapped, need to borrow Greenie Mc…"

"Freed, damnit. Dipshit, any reason you can't call him by his name?" Laxus rolled his eyes before he put a powerful hand to the balcony railing and swung over it. The large lightning slayer landed with barely a thud, for a big guy he moved like a cat.

"Same reason I call you Lightbulb, names are boring," he shrugged, "now, about Sunshine and borrowing Greenie?"

Laxus crossed his arms over his big chest and pursed his lips, "why do you care?"

Cobra rolled his one good eye before running his hand through his purple hair. He let out a short breath and then ran up the stairs to get right into pretty boy's face. Laxus was only an inch or two taller than him, but that shit didn't matter, right now Cobra was on a mission from Blueballs and that shit trumps Lightbulb's height any day. "Blueballs cares, she's been missing like 2 days now."

"I thought that shit was over between them," Laxus said. Everyone knew Jellal had a thing for Sunshine, they even tried it for a bit but in the end Blueballs earned his fucking name when he traded in their relationship to go be like a monk or some shit. Cobra listened to the hollow man sniffle and hide his tears late at night, among other sounds that go fap, for a couple months after that.

"Yeah, but that dude is just a sucker for those titties, also Sunshine is," he pursed his lips and searched for an answer. He thought he had one when Laxus began to laugh and put a big meat hook on his shoulder.

"Sweetest little chick, I get it. Everyone loves her, it's a superpower. Come on, Freed's inside," he said, and Cobra grinned at him. Their one and a half set of eyes met and Cobra licked his bottom lip. They kept avoiding the other conversation to have and fuck if that wasn't annoying the hell out of his instincts.

"You cool with helping?" he managed to ask.

"She's still nakama, this is for her, not you," Laxus paused for a moment and grumbled under his breath. Cobra barely caught the words before Lightbulb grabbed his jacket lapel and pulled him into a rough take no fucking prisoners kiss with tongue. He relaxed into the kiss as their tongues attacked each other, cause fuck battling for dominance sounded like a trope or something and this was not what was happening. Hectic, hard, and desperate the slayers kissed with all that pent-up need and boy would some yaoi loving chicks be fainting at this site.

Even overpowered dragon layers need air and as the two pulled back there was a slow clap. They both looked over at the door, neither one of them blushing or other pansy shit. Greenie was standing there, in his usual burgundy coat, gold foil, and black pants with whatever the fuck that frilly thing is around his neck. "About time Laxus, come on in Cobra. I think Master Bob has a decent cyanide martini waiting for you."

"Shut up Freed," Lightbulb grumbled as he grabbed Cobra's hand and pulled the poison slayer inside the sugar palace. As they passed the Rune mage Cobra handed him the whip and he arched a delicate brow.

"Sunshine is missing, need some tracking Runes on it," he said as Laxus kept moving, making him increase his walking pace to keep up or look like an adorable abused ragdoll being pulled along by an overzealous little girl.

"I'll get to work on it," the green haired mage said.

Cobra was taken over to the bar while Greenie went off in another direction with the whip. As he sat his fine ass on a blue fabric covered barstool, he looked at the martini sitting there. For a second, he realized that today was pretty awesome, and he hoped where ever Sunshine was, she was raising hell.

"Freed is gonna be a bit, so we should talk," Laxus said as he sat down next to him with a big frosty mug of beer. Cobra sipped his martini and smiled a little, Master Bob knew what the fuck he was doing. Damn that was smooth.

"Ain't much to talk about, we fuck, bite, stop acting like bitches," he said as he tossed back the drink. Which damnit, if he was more like one of those classy drinkers he wouldn't have done. The cyanide worked through his system, giving him a little bit of strength and relaxing him at the same time.

Laxus shook his head, "you're the bitch here."

Cobra tilted his head, "da fuck you talking about Willis? I ain't the ass clown who ran off."

The frosty mug shattered, and beer went everywhere as Laxus glared at him. For a second and if he was like totally a lesser little pansy bitch Cobra would have been scared. "You did, I told you meet me."

"You didn't, never heard a peep from you." He shot back.

"Sorano never gave you the note?" he asked and now Cobra was like totally confused, yep confused enough to sound like some little valley girl in a teenage movie.

He went through whatever fucking memories he had and drew a big fat zero. Instead of just saying it like that, "you thought she would do that shit? She's like allergic to anything that might be nice."

Laxus let out a sharp breath as his jaw tightened, "we could have handled our shit," Cobra laughed and Lightbulb rolled his eyes, "you know what I mean, jackass."

"I know but, dude…"

Cobra saw Greenie walk up, his thin lips in a measured line as he held the whip. He knew this was not a good sign, "excuse me, I am sorry, but my Runes can't lock onto her."

"Fuck me in the goat ass," Cobra whispered.

"Can you get a search area, at the very least?" Laxus asked and Cobra grinned at him. Good thing his last two braincells were working.

"I can try an old map trick, but least we know whoever has her is keeping her in a magic proof cell," the Rune mage said. "If I was stronger, I could overcome that but those Runes and calculations take someone beyond S-Class to handle."

"Have you been to Minstrel?" a light voice called out and Cobra looked over to see the fabulous Master Bob in his tank top and glorious makeup make his way down the bar to them. Most importantly he had another martini in his hand.

"The Mind Scions?" Greenie asked as Cobra and Lightbulb both shrugged, as if Greenie was speaking in some kind of foreign language.

"They could help, brilliant clan, but I was thinking of an old friend. You can randomly find her there, you'd probably like her Freed," Master Bob said with some strange fucking hearts in his eyes. The dragon slayers both went back to being confused but with the difference that Cobra had another cyanide martini in his hand and did not care.

"Who, Master Bob? Is she a Rune Mage?"

Master Bob laughed, it was kind of girly, "she is _the_ mage. She was also the third member of Fairy Tail."

"So, she's old," Laxus teased.

"She is but she's ageless, so she looks younger than you. Her name is Merlin, it's a gamble to find her but if you need potent magic and some glitter, she's the mage for you." Master Bob replied as he wiped down the bar with a pink rag that left the polished wood looking shinier than ever.

"How do we find her?" Laxus asked as Cobra sipped his drink. He wasn't certain if this conversation was going anywhere but he had nothing else to do. The whip right now was a dead(ish) end and at least he was finally getting that conversation with Lightbulb out of the way. Win motherfucking win.

"Easy, go to Minstrel, find one of her shrines, and call out that Fairy Tail needs her. Shouldn't be difficult," Master Bob shrugged as he finished cleaning up the mess from Lightbulb breaking a mug. "Also, Laxus, you owe me for the mug. Drinks are free but you know how I feel about my barware, sweetie."

"Sorry Master Bob," he said as he reached into his black jeans and pulled out a small silver money clip wad of Jewels.

"You think she would answer us?" Greenie asked.

"Might take a day or two but yes, also let her know she still owes me a favor. Happy to cash it in to save Lucy, she's such a little dollface." Master Bob answered as Laxus handed him a few bills and set the clip on the bar. Cobra eyed it for a second and then sipped his drink, tempting as the money was, he couldn't…

Yeah, he could. Not today, tomorrow he'll rob pretty boy. Yep, tomorrow.

"Well let's go to Minstrel, can we borrow the airship?" Greenie asked and Cobra was like, what the fuck. They had a fucking airship, how cool is that shit?

"Absolutely, while there see if the Mind Scions can upgrade the tech magic in it's main computer. They designed it," big, bald and fabulous said with a smile on his face. Cobra still had no idea what the fuck was going on, but it sounded like he was going on a trip.

"It'll take a day by air, I say we head out after lunch," Greenie offered, and Cobra just raised his glass.

"Cool, let's go find this Merlin chica and then Sunshine."

* * *

All his inhibitions were turned off as Mard curled his hand around her slender throat and his other hand held on to her hip as he took her from behind. He couldn't stop and didn't want to stop as her body greedily accepted him and she would say his name with such passion when she came for him. Seeing her open to him, needing him, craving him as he craved her was fulfilling on a primal level.

The aphrodisiac heightened everything, from sensation of body to emotions of the mind and heart. Some of that was Lucy, he reckoned in between heavy thrusts into her essence, forcing her to scream his name as she orgasmed around his dick. That sudden tightness threw Mard over the edge and he thrust harshly into her, biting her shoulder as the pleasure of his release hit him.

This orgasm felt different, it was more than just the release of his body, he felt his soul, or the demonic approximation of a soul come part and wrap around her. There was a kind of magic in the air, heavier than the mist of the drugs and in a deep purple, Mard thought he was seeing things. He felt a perfect union of being as he pulsed into her warmth and she shivered under his larger sweaty body.

"M-Mard, oh fuck," she whimpered as she turned her head to the side. There was something lovely about the blonde Celestial giving into lust upon black sheets, a yin and yang effect. It only made Mard hard again.

He leaned up as she collapsed forward, her head half hiding under the black pillows. Mard blinked and knew he was too high, he was finally hallucinating. Over her spine against her pale flesh was a dark red-violet rose, his personal sigil. Mard closed his eyes and shook his head, trying to block out the image and convincing himself that it was nothing.

As he tried to put himself back together, the unending call of the need to rut and implant his seed into her scratched along his mind. His demonhood was ready to sink back into her and he opened his eyes as her tongue trailed along the thick vein before swirling over the flared head of his cock. Mard opened his eyes and looked right into her coffee colored ones, rimmed in red. She had a hunger to her, and he couldn't deny his Queen and mate whatever she wanted.

His mate?

The thought and this moment quickly forgotten and replaced by his urges as Lucy began to suckle upon him. The pleasure too immense, Mard leaned back on his hands, fisting the damp silk sheets to hold himself upright as she teased him with her beautiful mouth. Later when the high was gone and a chance for sleep had happened, the hallucination and these thoughts would be gone, and everything would be clear. Until then he didn't care as he started moving his hips to match her head movements.

* * *

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** _Up Next - Mated?_ **


	4. Mated?

_Disclaimer: Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail. This is a work of like fanfiction, it may even be reasonably well written LOL_

* * *

Zeref hadn't planned to enter the elaborate cell but the pulse of magic that came form the room had piqued his interest. It was not possible, the runes and sigils embedded into the stone should have made all their magic impossible. The properties were specially keyed using a bit of blood in the carvings. Then again, the carvings were fine tuned at the last minute, had he overlooked something.

He frowned as he looked at the sleeping pair, Lucy was sprawled all over Mard her golden hair fanned out over his chest as her slim body curled over his muscular legs. Mard held her, his arms locked around her shoulders, a bit of tightness in his muscles. This was interesting to Zeref and he leaned over the black silk bed with rumpled sheets and dried fluids smeared everywhere. The drugs were potent, that much was certain but to this level, he arched a brow as he clinically examined the scene.

There was something different about them, something he could feel as he hovered his pale hand over Lucy's head. He murmured an incantation to reveal their auras and noticed something he would have considered impossible. They were not separate, they were joined together a bit of Mard's natural black and purple seeping into Lucy's gold and pink and vice versa. A soul bonding?

Mard had that power? He shouldn't have that, very rarely do demons have that gift and he was certain given Mard's appearance he was only a partial demon. Something like this should not have been possible and yet here he was. Zeref taxed his mind for any information he may have collected on mating practices and affixed his gaze to Lucy's prone and naked form.

He leaned a bit further over and touched her arm, pushing her a bit more into Mard. She let out a whisper about cupcakes and nuzzled her cheek into Mard's abs as the demon tightened his grip a bit more before letting out a sleepy sigh. Zeref almost smiled at the affection. This was going better than he thought and wondered if the drugs would be a necessity going forward. Then again why take chances?

As he looked upon her back his brows shot up to see a dark purple rose tattooed to her back. Zeref was certain she never had such a mark before, having personally inspected her as his maids cleaned and prepared her for the room. Lucy was blemish free, barring a few light scars and certainly no tattoos. This was new and how did Mard do it?

Needing to study her a bit further, he gripped her shoulder and teleported them out of the room. He clutched Lucy to his chest as he held her in the small laboratory. She shivered and whimpered as she tried to nestle against him for warmth. Zeref put her on a white paper and cloth examination table, placing her on her stomach so he got a better view of her back. As he looked at the mark, he noticed that it sparkled a little, no normal tattoo ink did that.

As he stretched his arm out to touch it a shriek was heard, and he pulled his hand back as he looked over to the small demoness with rabbit ears in lab coat entering the room. Lamy was his research scientist, she knew more about Etherious physiology than he did, and her calculations were invaluable for making sure he did not accidently overdose the pair on the aphrodisiac. All he had to contend with was her personality.

"Lord Zeref! What are you doing? Don't touch this human! I will dispose of her." Lamy said as she bounced over to him.

He arched a brow at her, noticing how she had a spot of drool coming form the corner of her tiny mouth as she gazed upon him. That's right he had heard she had a "pretty boy" complex and Zeref knew he was reasonably good looking enough. He gave her a smile, watching her sway on her feet. "My dear scientist, I need your expert opinion on this strange mark." He waved his hand over Lucy's back and noticed that Lamy was still staring at him.

The Dark Lord snapped his fingers, "Lamy, the mark. Pay attention."

She blinked several times before grabbing a white metal and black step stool and coming over to the table. Lamy hopped up and screamed, Lucy started to stir and Zeref quickly put a sleep spell on her, trying to keep this quiet and not have to use memory magic on her. He then clasped a strong hand over the demoness's mouth and glared at her till she stopped.

"Speak quietly, what is this?" he commanded and asked of the demon who was now licking his fingers. He tore his hand from her mouth and wiped it on her lab coat.

"Mard Geer is alive? That…" she started drooling as she mentioned his abs and perfect face, Zeref rolled his eyes.

"Yes, and if you explain this mark to me, I will get you a nude picture of him." Zeref said, watching how the Etherious demon grinned at him and then promptly fainted. Zeref pinched his forehead as he could not believe this was the level of expert help, he had around him. Lamy twitched on the floor as she rolled around spraying drool all over the place. Perhaps the picture was not the proper bribe.

Zeref kicked at her head, his black boot connecting with her head with a wonderful crack. Lamy stopped immediately and curled into the fetal position rubbing her head and squalling like a child. His patience now gone he picked her up by the ears and looked into her eyes. "Stop and answer my question, otherwise I will torture you and there will be no picture."

Lamy sniffled and whipped her running nose with her lab sleeve, Zeref was appalled by this and dropped her. "Okay, one second Master." She wiped her face again and rolled up her sleeves as she hoped back on the stool.

Zeref waited to the side as Lamy looked Lucy over and mumbled a great many things. He saw her reach into her coat pocket and pull out a knife as hatred began to roll off of her. He grabbed her wrist and growled, "you cannot kill her! She and the child she will bare is vital for my future. Do you understand?"

"I-I wasn't going to kill her just cut off the mark. She doesn't deserve it!" Lamy cried as Zeref took the silver knife from her hand.

"It is what I thought, Mard Geer has chosen a life mate and Queen then?"

"It's not fair! She's not even a demon and she's not even cute," Zeref snorted at Lamy's jealousy, she wasn't really a prize and had no room to judge the Celestial Mage's physical form.

Zeref took in a small breath and schooled his expressions before he would tear into her and drag out this simple question. "Lamy, your jealousy has no place. What does the mate mark mean?"

"Besides the fact that Mard doesn't have taste," she replied and Zeref let it go as she continued. "I really don't know. Mard Geer has always been different, you created us from animals, but he was a demon before he was bound to the book. I'd have to," she started drooling again, "experiment."

"No," Zeref said flatly, "if I give you a sample of his blood, can you do a genetic trace?" Lamy nodded, "good. Then I need to return her to the cell and collect your sample." Zeref smiled at her, and gently stroked her cheek, "I expect your best work on this."

"Y-yes sir!" she exclaimed and handed him an empty syringe from her coat pocket as Zeref collected Lucy from the table. She curled against him as he nodded to Lamy and teleported back into the cell. He placed Lucy back in the bed against Mard, who had subconsciously turned towards her and held her in his arms again. After he collected his sample, filling the syringe, Zeref left the room without noticing that Mard was barely awake.

* * *

Mard felt the burning of his brain as the drugs exited his system. His body was sore and tired as he held on to a sleeping Lucy and his nose was filled with the aromas of their sexual escapades. What woke him was a small pinch to his arm and the feeling of Zeref in the room. Why would Zeref touch him?

If anything, he would have expected Lucy to be poked and prodded, as she was the one who would need to conceive. Yet she was safely curled up against him mumbling about being cold. Mard let go of her and reached down to find the blanket but it wasn't on the bed. Instead he very slowly rolled over and found it in a heap on the red plush carpet. He grabbed it and threw it over Lucy, who reached out for him and he felt the desire to hold her and keep her safe.

His hand ran up her back and he felt something raised on her skin surface, it was larger than his hand and went up quite the ways over her spine. That was odd, and his hazy mind struggled for details as he yawned. Mard could taste something coppery on his tongue, like blood and found it odd. Did he accidently pierce her with his fangs while they were in the throes of copulating?

It was possible, the experience while on the aphrodisiac was akin to an out of body experience. He was in control but not, inside his body and feeling everything while also watching the scene from the outside. This was only the second dose of the drug he had been given and Mard absolutely hated it.

When he is free, he would consider rallying the Underworld to burn down all of Zeref's world and have him tried and executed for this crime. Mard growled as he clutched on to Lucy, she was his co-victim in this hell and deserved justice as well. Maybe she'd like to assist in the disembowelment? He chuckled at the thought, picturing holding a segment of lower intestine and scrunching her nose at it, as Lucy started to stir in his arms.

He kissed the top of her head, trying to soothe her, knowing that she would have the same body pains and emotional reaction to the first time. Mard found the hot shower a great comfort, as it released the smell form his body and helped with his headache. From the way she kept shivering, it may also warm her up, but he was not going to move until she wanted him to. Instead he rubbed her back, trying to sort out the strange bumps on it.

Mard traced a finger along a ridge and tried to map out what he was feeling in his mind. Akin to drawing a mental picture based on his touch. So far it was not going very well, and he was still just as confused as Lucy sighed and started pushing against him.

He let go of her as she pushed back and sat up, taking the black blanket with her. Mard grabbed the black silk and stained sheet and draped it over his middle, trying for a bit of decency as she gathered her wits. Lucy yawned and blinked several times before she rubbed her coffee colored eyes. Part of him anticipated her to start screaming again and part of him figured they had a few days to understand the situation and she should…

Nope, she started screaming and he pressed his hands over his ears, trying to not hear the high-pitched wail. Which was useless, "Lucy, please, stop," he begged as his brain felt like it was being cut apart by jagged metal.

To her credit she put her hands over her mouth and promptly quieted, Mard felt a bit of relief. "I-I'm sorry Mard, forgot," she said sheepishly.

Mard took in a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment, trying to manage the pain. It was barely working as he felt her fingers running through his hair, pushing his bangs back before she started rubbing his temples. He could almost purr at how soothing this felt and cracked open an eye to look at her, she was smiling as she touched him. "Thank you."

"Guess we know that I take a few seconds to get my bearings after being drugged."

"You do tend to wake up a bit disoriented, I assumed it is because you sleep not very soundly," he whispered, keeping his voice low to stop the headache he was feeling some relief from.

She stopped and looked at him, "what do you mean?"

"You talk in your sleep, which is a form of sleep walking so your REM is affected. You also move around quite a bit unless being held," Mard answered as he took her hand and moved it back to the side of his head. Lucy smiled at him and shook her head as she started massaging him again.

"And now you're an expert on me after a few days?" she asked.

"I observe, also since we do share a bed it is not difficult to notice these patterns to you." He said as he shut his eyes and enjoyed the sensation of a wonderful head massage. Lucy was certainly kind, and he bet she was battling her own discomfort to make amends for screaming.

"Oh, aren't you special," she teased.

"I am, thank you for noticing," he replied as they both started laughing. The laughter lasted a few seconds before Lucy grabbed her own head and moaned about her brain hurting. Mard conversely was feeling much better and got out of the bed.

He reached for Lucy and to his surprise she let him pick her up, "Mard, what are you doing?"

"A hot shower, it should help the both of us and then breakfast," he replied as he walked towards the small bathroom. The shower was going to be tight with both of them, but it would also give him a change to look at whatever he was feeling on her back.

"Are we at the showering together phase?" Lucy asked and Mard smirked at her as they entered the tiny room.

"I believe so, however we are not at the watching bodily functions phase. If you need to use the facility, let me at least get the shower started," he said as she nodded. Mard reached for the silver shower knob and turned it on before leaving the room. As he managed to squeeze by his small companion, he saw a bit of her back and quickly grabbed her shoulders to spin her around.

"Hey!" she protested as her hands pressed against the marble vanity and she bent over slightly. Mard knew the position was kind of awkward and though he had no desire to take her in the bathroom, he ignored it to look at her back.

"Sssshhh," he said as he stared at the rose along her spine. What he saw last night in his drug induced brain was not a hallucination. It was very real, Lucy was now marked with his personal demon sigil. Mard Geer now officially had a mate.

"W-what is it?" she asked as Mard lightly touched one of the petals on her back. He noticed that it shimmered a little under the light and the texturing was slowly settling into her skin. Mard figured that eventually he wouldn't be able to feel it, only see it much like a tattoo.

"Tend to your needs, I will explain in a bit." He said as he left her alone in the bathroom.

As he shut the door, he pressed his forehead against it and clenched his fists. Of all the stupid things he could have done while drugged out of his mind, tying his life into hers was nowhere on the list. Yet, there it was, and he had to answer for that as Lucy started screaming in the bathroom. He took a few steps back as she yanked the door open.

"What is that?" she shrieked as he covered his sensitive ears again, feeling the throbbing of his headache roar back to life. Lucy's small hands wrapped around his wrists as she pulled his hands away from his ears and he looked at her, noticing the trembling of her lip and the rage in her eyes. Her emotions were all over the place and to be fair so were his. "Answer me!"

"Stop yelling," he whispered.

"I don't have any fucks to give over your headache. What did you do to me?"

"That is the million Jewel question, Miss Heartfilia or should I say Mrs. Tartaros?" Zeref's voice hit the room and Mard denoted the bit of humor in its tone. He looked to the side as Lucy make a shocked sound and ran back into the bathroom. Mard didn't care if Zeref saw him naked, he only cared at the fact that as he saw the Dark Lord, the smile on his face had his heart racing and his blood turning cold.

"Your timing is horrendous," Mard said as Lucy came out of the bathroom wrapped up in a fresh black fluffy robe. She handed one to him and he gave her s short nod as a silent thank you. He put it on as Zeref watched the room from behind the glass, the look on his face let Mard know that Zeref was only here to watch the trouble, he knew exactly what happened. What distressed Mard was the fact that Zeref seemed to know this before he did.

"I do enjoy a decent plot twist, also Mard. You can explain this to all of us or I can hand this to Lamy," he said as he held up a vile of dark red liquid. Mard's eyes widened for a moment as he thought about the pinch he felt in his arm this morning before Lucy woke. Lamy of all people should not have his blood, with her abilities it would only be a matter of time before she made her own clone of him to do things that was unsettling his stomach.

Zeref laughed, "I can tell by the look on your face the thought of Lamy having your blood is abhorrent. So, answer the question, and do it quickly. My time is precious."

Mard let out a harsh breath and turned his attention to Lucy. If anyone he owed an explanation to it was her, after all she was now his mate and regardless if they liked it or not. Their lives were now entwined for the next several centuries.

* * *

When Mard looked at her with his distressed coal black eyes, Lucy felt a lump in her throat and her heart pound in her chest. Despite the presence of Zeref, she was determined to only look at her fellow captive. "Mard, please," she pleaded as he pursed his lips.

He took her hands and squeezed them lightly as he took in a deep breath. She ran her thumb over his knuckles and waited, blocking out Zeref, the room and everything else to hear him out.

"Last night, I thought I hallucinated the entire thing. I thought the mark was a figment of the drugs and not a reality. Today I am quite wrong," he said, and Lucy found her bare foot tapping in a bit of her impatience. At the same time, she had to give him room to speak, it wasn't lost on her that when Mard spoke he usually did it with purpose and reason.

"Okay, so this is an accident. What exactly does it mean, and can we undo it?" she asked, trying to sort it out.

"I have never heard of mating being a simple accident. Both parties must consent on a soul level before it can happen," he said, and Lucy tilted her head to the side as she pursed her lips and her brows knit together.

"Mating? Both parties?"

Mard nodded, "some species have an ability to link their soul to another, this is mating. It is the solidification of one true pairing that will live out the rest of their days together. More permanent than the human marriage custom because," he let out a breath and squeezed her hands a little harder. "It cannot be undone. Lucy last night we tied our souls together and the proof is the fact you now wear my personal demonic sigil along your spine."

She let go of his hands and took a few steps back, her sight becoming blurry as tears gathered. This couldn't be, why the hell would she or her soul consent to a life long mating with a demon she barely knew. The short answer was that there was no way this could happen, he had to of done something. Mard had somehow tricked her and played her while they were drugged out of their minds last night.

Tears started falling as she shook her head, "no no no. I-I don't believe you."

Mard took a step towards her and she put her hands up defensively, he stopped and looked at the ground. "I am sorry Lucy, I never meant to waste my mark on you."

"Waste?" she screamed, as anger started to override her sadness. The thought he now considered this just a waste to him, was insulting. Lucy wanted to hit him, knock him to the ground and beat on his pretty face until all his teeth were in a bloody pile next to whatever would be left of his head.

"W-Wait, that was not…" he stammered.

"Waste, I never meant to waste my mark on you! Your exact fucking words, Mard!" She screamed as tears raced down her cheeks. The thought of being a mistake was worse than the thought of being the accidental life mate to a demon king. That maybe there was something between the two, something that Stache Face knew about years ago.

It wouldn't have been so bad but what he said, it hurt her heart. Almost literally as she felt small stabs of pain and her breathing was labored under the shock and anger of the moment. Lucy kept crying and mentally cursing him as Mard came closer to her.

"Lucy, please, let me clarify." He reached out and touched her shoulders, before Lucy could pull back, he had her in a gentle hug. His lips were by her ear and Lucy shuddered in his grasp but had no other source of comfort. At the very least, maybe she could try to hear him. "I would never have wasted something valuable during a drugged induced haze. If I was going to mate you, I would have preferred the choice and make that choice with you. Because we did it this way, it felt like the waste of a once in a lifetime moment."

He moved his hands down her arms and swung them forward and on reflex Lucy held him back. "That is all, you are not a waste, you are a little rosebud. Beautiful, small and ready to bloom into her wonder at any moment. This is not ideal but the last few days with you have been pleasurable."

Lucy could barely believe her ears, Mard was such a smooth talker. He was finding the right things to say to ease her mind and make up for his carelessness. She would question if he believed it but she remembered that Mard mentioned that he did not believe in lying. Which so far, she had no reason to not think he had ever lied to her. No matter how tough her questions were or how much he looked upset to answer them, he did answer them.

She cried a little longer as he stroked her hair and held her until she realized something important. "You said both parties, does that mean it only worked because I wanted it?"

Lucy felt him nod beside her head before he began to whisper into her ear again. "Yes, somewhere inside of yourself you had to want to be with me as much as I wanted you."

"The drugs or is it?" she asked her voice trailing off before she asked him about love.

"The drugs release our inhibitions, so we acted on primal urges. I do not think there is love, I am uncertain of what that is."

"I don't love you," she admitted. Love was too special, and she was a complete romantic knowing that there was the right person for her and now that chance was gone. There was no way to undo the mating and she would be Jewels to donuts that Mard was not going to let her date anyone again.

For the first time in the last few days Lucy felt like a prisoner again, this time it was a prison that she could never escape from. She was official the mate of Mard Geer Tartaros and there was something damning and freeing about that. Mostly damning.

"The room is anti-magic," Zeref drawled and Lucy knew he was right.

"Mating is natural, you do not have the skill, power, or necessary cancellation Runes to stop nature. I know only one being who could tamper with it and you are not her." He shot back and Lucy shivered a little out of fear that Zeref could easily hurt Mard.

"So defiant, Mard Geer," he replied, "I have more questions about this mating, another time."

"Wait!" Lucy pulled back from Mard and turned towards Zeref. The Dark Lord's eyes widened for a second as she walked to the glass, "his blood."

"Interesting, defending your mate?" Zeref asked, his tone cruel and mocking to their situation.

Lucy ignored it, biting back her initial thoughts to tell him how much of a dick he was. "Mard answered your initial questions, if you'd like more answers, we need a sign of good faith."

"What would work as a sign of good faith to you?"

For the first time in her life, Lucy understood the expression deal with the devil, she felt as if she was making one. Odd considering, she was sharing a cell with a demon. "Destroy half the blood, waste it on the floor and burn it." Lucy felt Mard come up beside her, his fingers entwined with hers as she continued to watch Zeref.

"Destroy the other half when I have finished this conversation?" Zeref asked and Lucy looked up to Mard who gave him a curt nod.

"Yep," she said. Zeref looked at the two of them his black eyes bouncing back and forth between their faces. He shrugged and undid the cork at the top of the vial, he poured half of it and Lucy saw a bit of a glow as the fire ate at it.

"I will grant you a few hours to recover and have some food. Enjoy your honeymoon," he said with a bit of malice and Lucy rolled her eyes as Mard growled lowly in his throat. The wall turned back to stone and Lucy let out a breath of relief as her companion, well mate she reckoned, pinched his forehead and mumbled.

_I have no idea what else I can say to Zeref. I have never mated._

"Huh?" Lucy asked, confused when she could have sworn, she could hear him clear as day in her head.

"Just cursing the fact that my knowledge of what he wants to know is limited." Mard replied as he started walking towards the small bathroom that was leaking out mass amount of steam. Lucy completely forgot about the shower that running. _Pompous Ass will never let me live this down that I have mated one of his star children._

"Pompous Ass will never let me live this down that I have mated one of his star children." She repeated and Mard froze. He turned around slowly and looked at her.

_Is she reading my thoughts?_

"Mard, why can I hear you in my head?" Lucy asked. _This is totally batshit._

"This is totally batshit," Mard said, his eyes as big as hers felt and Lucy quickly dashed into the bathroom with him following her and locking the door. She pressed her back against the door as Mard leaned against the vanity, their eyes locked on each other through the steam.

_Lucy, can you hear me?_

_Yes._

_This is unexpected, it must be a natural soul link. Do you know what this means? _Mard asked, Lucy finding this interesting, slightly annoying to not have her own thoughts to herself ever again but this was something that could actually help them.

_I think so, we can plan our escape without Zeref spying on us._

_Yes, but we still have to have normal conversations, so he has no idea._

_Alright Mard, this is so fucked up._

_Indeed._

"Let's shower and get food, I don't know about you but I'm starving and by that, I'm stressed," Lucy spoke audibly, just in case the last few seconds of silence could attract attention.

"Stress eater?" he asked as he stripped off the robe and stepped into the shower. Lucy watched the water rain down on his very fine naked body and he grinned at her before pointing to his head. She internally groaned and took off her robe to join him.

"Something like that," she said.

"I do that too, usually babies," he teased, and Lucy swatted his arm as she cracked up.

"What am I going to do with you?" she asked as she looked up at him. His hands came to her waist as she placed her hands on his shoulders. They stared at each other and Lucy could feel that little spark that hits right before you know you are going to be kissed. It was something she could always tell and Mard leaned down as she prepared herself for her first non-drugged kiss.

His lips hovered right above hers for a second before he ghosted them along her cheek, "wash my back?"

"Seriously?" she called out and suddenly in the moment of her temper tantrum his lips were on hers and she melted as the demon kissed her in the shower.

* * *

Cobra stood on the deck white-knuckling the fucking railing as he looked at the horizon. This ship was so fucked and what the hell was with the half horse at the front of it. They should ask these mental dudes to update the style a little. Make it look more badass and less like ass. Least that was his opinion, and everyone knows that opinions are really like assholes. Speaking of which, he thought as he flicked his cig and watched it fly off in the wind, and away from the fucking sails. This time.

He walked across the light wood deck and toward the simple staircase that lead into the belly of this fucking winged beast. One thing Cobra didn't get was why he never had the motion sickness issues as other slayers. Oh, and Lightbulb could deny it, but he saw Freed tracing Runes on the dude's back as they prepared to take off. Fucking cheater.

At this point Cobra was just bored, he wanted to be on land and doing something to help Sunshine. Also, he hadn't ever been to Minstrel, so there would be a shit ton of new trouble to get into. The only thing he needed to know about the country was the fact that most of Ishgar and its law didn't fuck with the place. Like if you were a wanted dude, like him, you could escape there and no one would bother your fine ass. Maybe he should just retire there.

He walked by one of the ship crew, trying to not laugh at the pansy fucking suits they wore on the ship. What was the point of literally putting them in booty short white uniforms with their names detailed on their sailor hats? Then again, he thought of the Blue Pegasus Guild and was like, whatever, it's their thing. All the cuties for sale and no power. Except for that short dude who sniffed things. Thanks, but no thanks, my dude.

Cobra heard whispering and paused as he recognized Lightbulb's deep voice. He knew he had a couple of seconds before he was… "I can fucking smell that cig. Get in here."

Cobra put his hands in his jeans pocket and entered the meeting room. The center of the room had a round oak table with a map of Ishgar carved into the wood. Swivel blue padded chairs were bolted around the table. The outer wall was pure glass and the other wooded walls were covered in pictures and maps. Overall it was a swanky room, just needed like more booze or something. Lightbulb and Greenie were standing next to each other with Greenie looking over a book.

"Yo," he said coolly as he entered and helped himself to one of the chairs.

"According to the crew we should be landing in about an hour," Greenie said.

"Cool, then we can go find this Merlin chick."

"You and I will go, Freed is going to head over to one of their Universities to discuss the upgrade for Master Bob and he wants to do his own research," Lightbulb shot back as he finally lifted his head and looked him in the one good eye. Guy was on point today, he may have even done something different with his hair and that dark blue shirt was working with his eyes. It's the little things, that Cobra noticed but didn't tell anyone.

"Don't trust this chick?" Cobra asked.

Greenie shook his head, "it's not that, but we should have a secondary plan in case she does not answer."

"Right, backup for my backup. We gotta move this shit cause who the hell knows what's happening with Sunshine." He said as he frowned a little. Who the fuck thought it was a good idea to kidnap her was in a world of pain. Like there was going to be some epic fucking poison in their future. Slow internal organ dissolving uncurable level of poison.

"I checked with a few people, so far not a peep. No ransom and nothing going on through the usual dark guild channels," Lightbulb said, and Cobra was a little shocked, no fucking pun intended.

"You know shady people?" Cobra asked, "awwww my little lightning bunny is growing up. Getting all big and bad with us criminal types."

Lightbulb glared at him and Cobra watched his jaw move as his molars ground together. He could almost taste the electricity in the air before it all suddenly just stopped, and Lightbulb let out one hell of a guffaw. Had he been on a stool, Cobra's ass would have fallen straight to the ground.

"You don't know me, you think you're the only badass. Grow the fuck up and get some damn gum after smoking."

Cobra gave him a mock salute, "yeah okay there chief. Alright so who you know?"

"If you will both excuse me, I need to begin the preparations to land. I suggest you both refrain from damaging the ship." Greenie said as he collected a few pieces of paper and walked around the table. Cobra eyed him, noticing that the guy was walking a little taller and had this air of… well something that was a mix of _give no fucks_ and _yes, I am the motherfucking queen_. Well maybe king, who the hell knew.

"Does he like think he owns this Love Boat or what?" Cobra asked.

Lightbulb went over to the wall and pushed a button as the bottom panel flipped out and there was a small bar. Which was kind of cool as he bent over, a nice view of hard ass wrapped in denim, and grabbed a couple bottles. He threw one to Cobra who caught it one handed like a fucking pro and flicked off the top with his thumb. Which got him a bit of foam all over his white coat arm and a bit on his black jeans.

"Master Bob put him in charge and you've never seen Freed pissed. I'd cool it around him," Lightbulb said as he grabbed a seat next to Cobra.

"Like what is he going to write me to death?"

"He can turn into a demon and rip your head off before shitting down your throat. Seriously, Freed has a dark side that most people don't know." Lightbulb said before he took a swig of the beer.

"Him? Like what he's part demon…" Cobra was cut off when Lightbulb glared hard enough at him that the message was clear. _Shut up right the fuck now._

"You know nothing, got it."

"Call me Jon Snow," Cobra replied with a laugh as Lightbulb looked at him confused. He smacked his forehead, "dude you gotta get more with the times. Anyways, anyone know anything about this Merlin?"

Lightbulb relaxed a little in his seat as he took another drink, Cobra liked watching the lightning slayer's lips work. Funny how that works when you're lusting after your mate, who feels the same way, but can they get a night to sort it out? Fuck no.

"Freed looked her up in the archives, she's over 500 years old, classified as a demi-Primal, considered a living Goddess, single handedly stopped a war and blew up a star," he said.

"Fuck, and he thinks she's going to listen to us?" Cobra asked, uncertain about this unholy fucking mage. He might be a little nervous, truth be told. Who the fuck blows up a star? How much power does that take?

His drinking companion shrugged, "who knows. All we can do is ask and find out. It's a long shot but at the very least Freed will be in a position where he can work with other Rune Mages to break through the cell." He played with the cartoon character logo on the beer bottle, his short nail flicking at the curled-up paper label. "Blondie better be okay. I knew I should have thrown her over my shoulder and made her come with, but she was just so…"

"Stubborn? Yeah tell me about it, I tried to turn her into a battery," Cobra chuckled, which had Laxus fist bumping him as he smiled at him.

"I had Ever turn her to stone once."

"Dude, how is it she still talks to us?"

"She's fucking crazy, but we like her like that," Lightbulb added as Greenie's voice came over speakers announcing they were ready to land.

"Hey Lightbulb," Cobra said as he looked into his stormy eyes. He could tell by the music of the lightning slayer's soul he was hopeful and waiting for him to make some kind of move and he really wanted to but, fuck this shit was hard. Despite the kiss and the fact that they knew they were mates, still just the actual act of committing for like ever was fuck. He looked away and mumbled, "thanks for helping."

Lightbulb grabbed his hand, "you're such a pussy."

* * *

_ **and the plot rolls on...** _

_ **Thanks to everyone for all the comments, kudos and bookmarks! If you're new here, comment, kudo and bookmark** _


	5. Pregnant

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail, but we all knew that.**

* * *

Mard was half asleep as he held on to his little Rosebud, having chosen the name on impulse since the day he explained mating to her. That was not one of his finest days and the fact that he misspoke so drastically still bothered him. Mard never tolerated imperfections in himself and though she was no longer holding it over his head, he still despised the phrasing he first chose.

She curled into him and he gently ran his hand down her back, under the black cover. The texture of the mating mark had dissipated a few weeks after it first formed and now was flush into her skin. It was a beautiful mark and accented her creamy flesh in an elegant flourish. The quirk of being able to communicate via thought had taken at least a month to get used to.

The first few days were the hardest as he had to train her how to turn it on and off. Mard having telepathy as a natural power, he had known how to work with it for hundreds of years. To Rosebud this was a new trick and many hours of conversations about privacy were had. She understood it fully when he caught her having some interesting lewd thoughts about him and he trolled her with it. Trolling, in a playful manner, worked well with her until she decided to troll back. To Mard he considered her a worthy opponent in this capacity and his fondness of her was growing.

Mard always knew any mate he would take would have to be strong of her own mind to keep up with him. To him it would have been boring to have someone who just did everything you said. He had servants and underlings for that. Rosebud was a bit of perfection in that regard, among some of her other interesting traits.

Her soft hand trailed down his side as he blinked a few times, his half-asleep musings draining from his mind. As he started to wake and soon, she would as well, which meant that he would have his coffee. That was most important, though he started to wonder what it would feel like to have non-drug induced sex with her in the morning. Mard let out a breath and tried to get rid of the thoughts, however a certain appendage was making this difficult. Hence why he needed to get into the shower before she woke up fully.

That was another memory that would keep him laughing, he found out that she somewhat innocent. Rosebud had had sex before and that did not concern him, though her previous partner tended to leave right after or before she woke up. He took great pride in the fact that he was the only man or demon she ever fully cuddled and woke with in the morning. Even now he internally laughed still hearing her yell, "oh goddess above you're fucking poking me! Pervert!" It was that day he had made the choice to be up a little before her.

Mard started pulling away from her in a bid to discreetly exit the black silk bed, still amused with the memory. As he started rolling over to make his escape, he felt a power in the room and quickly sat up. He looked up at Zeref, who was dressed in his usual black and white refinery and looking down upon Mard with a small satisfied smile.

"I think you know why I'm here," he said.

"According to Lucy, they make small kits she can use in the bathroom for the results you want. You have no need to touch her," Mard replied as he stood up, wearing his black boxers and no longer tenting them with his morning predicament. Strange how Zeref's presence can quickly deflate one's dick.

"They can be inaccurate, now, I suggest you move," he flashed Mard a nefarious grin, "unless you would like to try my patience."

Mard knew how this game was played and that he had no chance at this time. Zeref was ready for him, all but begging for the fight just to prove that Mard was weaker than him. With Zeref it was always about the psychological game. If Mard lost now, his mate would see him as weak and he would only find his mind tracing back to early days in his tortured life. Not much for options Mard stepped to the side but kept his eyes on the dark one.

Zeref leaned over the bed and easily took Rosebud who was only clad in her little pink slip. Mard had to stop himself from moving. Inside his mind he was screaming that no one should touch her. He clenched his hands, forcing his arms to stay at his sides as she let out a startled scream. In typical Rosebud fashion she hit Zeref before her senses came around. That was useful as Mard noticed that she wasn't in pain from the hit.

He would have mentally asked her about it, but they had a rule to not use their mind link with Zeref in the area. They could not take the chance that he would find out about the hours and hours of conversation and planning they had for their escape.

"Put me down," she growled.

"Ask nicely," Zeref mocked.

"Please," she said with a heavy amount of disdain in her voice. Zeref set her on her feet and to Mard's surprise she ran for the bathroom, shutting the door, and leaving them alone.

"Is she always like this?" he asked.

"Yes, for the first few minutes till she gets her mental faculties in order," Mard replied as Zeref began to chuckle. He couldn't understand what was funny in what he said, it was not a joke just a statement. "What is so humorous?"

Zeref shook his head, his wild black locks moving around, "only a man in love knows his woman so well."

Mard rolled his eyes, "I have been in this cell with her for roughly two months, I have learned."

"Call it as you will," he said with a simple shrug and Mard wanted to rip his throat out, but the timing wasn't right. Not with the room still being perfectly sealed and they had no way out of it. That was the sticky part of their plan and so far, neither of them had worked out a solution for that.

The door opened and Rosebud had put on a robe and combed her hair, she smiled at Mard before glaring at Zeref. The mage nodded to her and walked across the red rug to take her hand. Zeref looked over his shoulder, "when the testing is done, I will return her. Should only take an hour according to Lamy."

"Lamy? You cannot have her do the tests," he said, knowing full well that Lamy had issues. It was bad enough that Zeref still had half a vial of his blood and so the threat of Lamy getting her hands on it was always in the back of his mind. She was insane and her love of something she called bishōnen demons was borderline obsessive. Which he knew when he once found a crudely made body pillow that featured his likeness, without clothing and his cock was not to proper proportions.

"Of course, I can, this clone of her is much more biddable and less likely to hurt our precious mother to be," Zeref said and before Mard could retort, they were gone, and he growled.

"I will kill you," he whispered before he turned towards the bathroom. He noticed that sitting on the little bar height table was a carafe of coffee and a mug. Mard smiled at her thoughtfulness and as he grabbed the mug, he vowed that is anything happened to her he would destroy everything. Hell hath no fury like Mard without his Rosebud.

He tended the usual morning habits, coffee, shower, and more coffee, though he was not having breakfast and conversation with her. Mard found that annoying and started to wonder at which point was he finding her in such a place in his life. When exactly in this prison had she come to mean so much?

Was it just the coffee? No, he knew it was more than that.

Was it the way she let him hold her at night, appeasing his need for cuddling? A little, it was reassuring to have her near him and some of that he assumed was because it was what mates did.

Was it her smile, eyes, laugh, conversational skills, sharp mind and ability to fight? Yes, to all of it, it's what made her that perfect little rosebud.

Did that mean he was in love with her? No and to this day he still had no idea how love worked. Desire was an emotion he understood and even when not drugged, he desired her. That much he could admit, but it was the only frame of reference he had when it came to the Celestial Summoner.

His carafe was empty and Mard was certain that it had been almost an hour as he sat here, alone in his thoughts. He should double check their research notes, having made a stunning break through a week ago when they finally figured out what Zeref was trying to do. On his own, he never would have thought about it, but her knowledge had helped immensely.

Mard walked over to the conversation area and reach under the plush white cushion of his usual chair to pull out the stack of papers. He was certain Zeref had to of known about all of this but so far, the dark mage had not shown his hand. That was disconcerting and he made sure to process every scrap of paper and log it away into his mental library. Unless Zeref felt like augmenting his mind again, the work would be safe there.

He looked over the white piece of paper, covered in various mathematical symbols and star notes. This was not his work, no, Rosebud had a vast knowledge of anything having to do with the stars. More than mythology, she charted frequencies, movements, and high-level complex calculations about quantum physics. Even his own mind struggled to keep up with her when she started following this path.

Mard recalled conversations around the notes and if he understood this correctly… The papers tumbled out of his hands, flying all over the table as he stood up and went for the little hand made calendar on the bookshelf. His heart was racing as he looked at the dates and thought about what she said about orbits and variability in gravity fields. She mentioned something about a black hole, how it was a dead star and that meant something to him.

As he considered everything, he felt Zeref's power in the room and quickly turned around. He panicked for a moment, thinking that Zeref would see the notes and destroy them. Alas it was Rosebud alone in the room and she looked over at him with tears streaming down her face. Mard ran to her and opened his arms, waiting for her to need him.

Rosebud pressed against him as she cried into his chest, tears and a bit of snot caking his clean skin. She shivered and mumbled before muffling her own screams. A sense of dread filled him and there was only one thing that could cause her to be this upset. One thing that could shatter her very core and allow her to cry this hard.

_Rosebud, are you?_

_6 weeks, oh god, I'm pregnant._

He tried to hold back his own emotions, finding them mixed. One part of him was elated and the other part was more terrified than he had ever been in his entire life. One part could picture him happily holding a small child with his hair and her eyes and the other part could only see its death by Zeref's own hands. It was a complete mess instead of complete joy. Their time was growing short and though Mard did not pray, he really could use a miracle.

* * *

Freed was not amused, in the slightest. He was being literally and inelegantly dragged through the streets of Mente, the coastal capital of the Mind Scions Clan. Various people watched as his arms were being held but the two slayers and his black boots were sliding along the smooth white concrete of the sidewalk.

"Stop! I am capable of walking on my own!" he shouted.

Cobra looked over his shoulder and grinned at him, "promise, Greenie?" Freed bristled at the nickname but reluctantly nodded. Anything to stop this humiliation to his person, considering the fact he was barely properly dressed to be out amongst the people.

He was in a white shirt, black pants and boots with the rest of his usual attire still back in the small reading room he had taken over in one of the libraries. One thing he appreciated about this clan was how studious they were and their philosophies on intellect was a departure from his usual life. Here they worshipped the mind and intellect with their clan's core principles being "may your intellect be your paintbrush and your curiosity be the canvas."

Laxus and Cobra stopped, and both let go of his now sore wrists and Freed glared at them from under his now messy bangs. He swiped them over so he could see and noticed how only a few people were staring at the unlikely trio. Cobra was wild with caramel skin, one purple eye and no matter the heat always wore a white coat over purple shirt and black jeans. Laxus was pale in complexion with stormy blue eyes, an imposing frame but wore tailored silk shirts and pressed jeans.

"Before I move, explain to me what has you both in such a hurry."

"Look, it's been like 2 months, upgrade that flying thingy is done and still no Merlin. Lightbulb had an idea, we need ya for it." Cobra answered as he looked at Laxus, the lightning slayer smiling as they made eye contact.

"Laxus, what is this idea? I was in the middle of researching a complex formula in theoretical magic," he said.

Freed had found out that there was a reason most Rune mages spent years among the Mind Scions, Rune magic and its various forms were first created here. This was the central repository for dead languages, forgotten spells, and breakthroughs in permanency magic that allowed for something called tech magic. A merging of technology, science with magic to give even non-mages access to useful tools that were above what he ever thought possible. Such as Lacrima Tableaus, small devices that could communicate over an intricate network and pull in any information you wanted. He had plans to bring one back with him, even if the price was a bit high at 10 million Jewels, after conversion to Sunarios.

"Master Bob, when we talked to him, he said he thought Merlin would like you. So far you haven't come with us to the shrine." Laxus replied as he crossed his arms over his massive chest.

Freed blinked, "what? You think I can summon her? If she hasn't answered thus far, I would have to say that she is just a legend."

Cobra laughed, "explain that to the peeps. Quite a few of them have stories of meeting her. Dude, it'll only take a few minutes."

"Fine, but when she does not answer, I am allowed to finish my work so we can have the proper Runes for tracking Lucy." Freed said and Laxus held out his hand, he took it for a firm handshake.

"Done and done, this way," Laxus said as he dropped the handshake and reached out for Cobra. Freed gave a short nod and followed behind the two slayers loosely holding hands as they walked along.

"Out of curiosity, have you two mated yet?" he asked and noticed how both tensed at the same time.

"Nope, Lightbulb is scared of my anaconda," Cobra teased.

"Try that again, more like you're the pussy ass bitch around here," Laxus replied, which had Freed smiling. It was clear to anyone that the two had chemistry between them and the pairing made sense.

"You both are idiots, it is a natural process and I know you both enjoy sex," Freed added as they turned a corner.

"Lifetime commitment dude, this shit ain't that easy. You tell me you gonna commit to something forever on a goddamn whim?" Cobra said and Freed tilted his head as he considered it. It made sense, though their physical bodies had the need for mating, they still had an emotional commitment to work through. Freed understood if he was in their place it would take him years to sort out if he was willing to commit. Then again, he had been thinking more and more about such things in his fleeting moments of waxing poetic.

"Understand, it makes sense and the most level-headed approach," he said as the pair stopped suddenly.

"Here," Laxus said pointing towards the small glass, steel and white building across the street. They crossed the street and Freed noticed that not many people were around the building and its presence felt different. There was an aura of welcoming around the structure, as if he was meant to be here.

"Do you feel that?" he asked as Cobra pulled open the glass door and Laxus stepped through.

"Nope, what's up Freed?" Laxus asked over his shoulder.

Freed walked by Cobra, "it's just a very welcoming presence. I've never felt something like this before. Akin to what I imagine it would feel like to go home."

Laxus stopped and turned around, he looked over Freed's head and shrugged. His blue eyes looked onto his teal ones before he put a hand on Freed's slim shoulder. "That might be a good thing Freed, come on, the shrine is back here."

They walked through the high vaulted lobby room, where several people sat on benches and chatted with cups of tea. The people here all looked happy and though it was not heavily decorated, Freed could tell that there was much thought and care given to the design of the place. The flooring he noticed was a stamped marble, something he had never seen before. What was interesting that there were names, dates and notes marked into the floor. It was interesting to him and he should have studied some of the mythologies behind this woman and this place, but he had no time.

Two bald and very large men gave a short nod to them before opening up the steel doors at the end of the lobby. He squared his shoulders and walked into the most beautiful greenhouse. There were exotic plants, butterflies, and scents in the humid air. Small water features were being used by various birds and that sense of belonging started playing with his mind a bit more.

They got to the end of the red cobblestone walkway and he looked up at a statue of what had to be the most beautiful woman. She was on her knees with her hands on the hilts of two massive claymores sunk into the base. A small stream of water flowed out of her right eye and the expression on her face was indescribable.

"So fun fact, this is based off the moment when the Day of Judgement hit Minstrel during the great clan war. The Day of Judgement is Minstrel's holiest of days where they observe silence for the souls lost and give thanks to her for lasting peace." Laxus said.

"Personally, I wanted a big shindig but that didn't bloody well work out," a woman's voice called out and Freed turned around. Standing next to a pink flowering tree was a woman with jewel tones hair, opal shifting eyes, tattoos, ripped up jeans and a blank tank top and a playful smile. His heart beat wildly in his chest as she took a few steps towards him.

She held out her hand and Freed took it, kissing the back of it and noticing the unusual sigil on it. "Freed Justine," he said.

"Been waitin' fer ya. Why did ya take so long to meet me?" she asked, and he pursed his lips.

"What the fuck, we've been here like every motherfucking day," Cobra blurted out.

"Aye, I know, but was waiting for him to ask me out," she said with a flirty wink and Freed blushed. "Yer adorable when ya blush."

"M-Merlin," he said trying to hide his embarrassment and failing, "our friend has been kidnapped and Master Bob said you were the only mage he knew that could help us locate her."

"I dun meddle," she replied.

"What?" Laxus screamed.

"Dat's bullshit, look Sunshine is Fairy Tail, family and shit," Cobra said and Freed could hear the agitation in his voice.

Freed held up his hand for silence and gently took Merlin's other hand, he ran his thumbs over her smooth knuckles and looked into her color shifting pale eyes. "She's in a prison with magic cancelling, I tried a tracking spell on her whip, but it failed. We were told you could help my magic to make it work. That is all we need. We are not asking you to rescue her, just help me with the tracking runes."

"Is that all? I can do that, but I want something in return, ya?"

"What do you want?" Freed asked.

Merlin stepped closer to him, his breath caught as she got up on her toes and her lips were near his ear. She had the most amazing fragrance to her and the softness of her curves were exciting in ways that was completely ungentlemanly. "I want a date and a kiss," she said and Freed gulped.

"Dude, take him, have fun. Greenie needs to get laid," Cobra teased as Laxus chuckled. Freed could feel the flush come over his cheeks but they needed to find Lucy. A kiss and a date didn't sound like a bad idea, she was stunning.

"Deal," he agreed and to his shock she wrapped her arms around his neck and yanked him down into the most passionate kiss. Freed closed his eyes as her tongue ran along the seem of his lips and he opened his mouth to let her explore. Merlin had such a passion and gentleness to the kiss he found his brain turning off to enjoy it. As her tongue gracefully slid next to his he could feel a tingle in the air and his mind started to fill with ancient magical knowledge, runes and sigils he had never seen before began to form in his head.

Their kiss ended and Freed swayed a little on his feet as he processed all the new information and a bit of new magic in his body. He felt her trace something against the sensitive skin of his inner left wrist. "When ya save yer friend, call me for the date?"

"You don't want payment now?" he asked.

"Ya ain't ready, sweet chap but not there yet. Now go on, save your friend," she said and as he blinked, she was gone. His lips still tingled and Freed turned around to look at a very stunned Laxus and Cobra.

"Gentlemen, I know how to find Lucy, let's go," he said as he adjusted his collar and spun around to the exit.

The two slayers hadn't budged but he could clearly hear Cobra as he said, "did ya know Freed was a motherfucking stud?"

Freed chuckled and looked back, "I am _the_ motherfucking stud."

* * *

Lucy was curled up on Mard as he stroked her hair and didn't say a word. He was giving her space and comfort as she processed everything, she had been through over the last few hours. She knew this was Zeref's goal and ultimately, she would be in the position but now that it was real…

Lucy sniffled as she tightened her grip around Mard's waist, and he continued running his long fingers through her blonde locks. She could still hear the shrill shriek of the bunny eared doctor when her blood test came back positive. Could still see the look of satisfaction and triumph on Zeref's face. Every time she blinked that grin haunted her and his words annoyed her, "congratulations little mother."

There was something sick and wrong with that thing. How could a man who planned to kill your child say something so cruel? With a smile. The level of evil from Zeref was something she couldn't fathom, hell not even Mard had been that bad. Right now, she was almost wishing they let him succeed and destroy magic so he could kill Zeref, then she wouldn't be here.

She also wouldn't have had a chance to meet Mard and find him very likeable. So, there was that and she cursed her own brain for blending too many things together. Things that shouldn't be fitting together. How could she be happy about meeting the demon who cost her Aquarius? How could she enjoy sleeping next to the villain who tried to kill everyone she loved? How could she find him to be so damn wonderful?

From his snark to intelligence, large black eyes, elegant face and a body that was pure sin, Mard Geer was not what she ever expected. Somehow, he mated her in all of this and except for one bad turn of phrase, never seemed to be upset by the entire thing. Instead she noticed he softened a little more around, taking time to better explain things and when he kissed her, she felt over the moon in joy.

Kissing was about as far as she was ready for, they had quite a bit of sex thanks to the aphrodisiac. Yet to one day give herself to him without the drugs, what would that feel like? Would he be a different lover? Would he treat her gently or plow into her with everything his body had? Lucy shivered at the thoughts as Mard mumbled something and moved her arm up.

Lucy looked down Mard's body, instead of staring blankly at the far red stone wall. She saw the rather large bulge in his lounge pants and blushed. He must have caught her thoughts, which she was trying to get better at not broadcasting them. Mard had explained to her that there were two types of thoughts, surface ones that are easy to pick up like whispered conversations and internal thoughts which require a bit more work. She was getting the hang of it and would only barely catch Mard's surface thoughts instead of hearing everything.

The only problem was that most of his internal thoughts were in his native language of _Infernai_. So, she didn't understand them, but Mard understood everything she thought without problems. Lucy was going to ask him to teach her the language but with all the research and conversations about figuring out Zeref's plan, there wasn't time. They had to be highly secretive and pray that he hadn't caught on to what they were doing when not having sex.

Speaking of sex, now that she was pregnant would Zeref keep using the gas just to fuck with them? Lucy didn't think it likely, his goal was achieved and she now carried the child of the Underworld King. In a way she felt like a very trapped Persephone, but she bet Hades wasn't quite as good looking as Mard.

Mard snorted, "sorry, though you are correct Hades is not as good looking. He is rather unpleasant, and it was understandable why he had to kidnap a lover."

Lucy shook her head, "how do you know him?"

"Planar Conference, his version of the Underworld is attached to a different version of something called Earth. I was not impressed," Mard replied and Lucy giggled lightly. His world was so unique, and these Planar Conferences sounded like excuses to drink and troll each other, which Mard exceled at.

"Mard has anyone ever impressed you?" she teased.

"I can think of two women," he replied, and Lucy sat up, not caring that her robe was open and fallen off her shoulder. Nor cared that she was still in a small revealing pink slip.

"Who?" she asked as he took her hand and placed a kiss to the back of it.

"You, obviously and my best friend, Merlin. She is as clinically insane as she is beautiful. She was also the first person to look at me as my own demon and not a creation of Zeref. Which if you ever meet her do not mention Zeref, they hate each other," he said, and Lucy could see a bit of fondness in his features as he talked about this woman.

Lucy was also surprised he had a friend, Mard didn't seem the type. Mard shook his head, his bangs swaying over his eyes, "I was not keen on the notion of friendship, Merlin just has a way. If I did not acknowledge her as friend, she was determined to do it for me or cover me in glitter."

She laughed at the mental image of him covered in glitter and not much else. Mard started cringing, "please do not do that."

"Do what?" she teased as she kept picturing glitter Mard and twirling around like a mirror ball.

His teeth gnashed together, "that. Stop with the glitter!"

It was faint but there in his voice was fear as Lucy looked into his eyes, "you have sparklephobia?" Lucy gently touched his cheek as Mard gave her a small nod. Of all the things she had no idea that glitter was something he absolutely feared. If they had known that, heck they could have taken down Tartaros a lot sooner and maybe not caused so much destruction. This was also an opportunity to troll him.

"I do not recommend that Rosebud, remember you like me," he said.

"I like you?" she asked as she fixed her robe and noticed that her stomach was started to grumble. She hadn't eaten yet today and now seemed liked as good of a time as ever. Lucy used the magical table and wished for a supply of breakfast foods, despite it being after lunch time. As part of that she also made sure Mard had more coffee and realized that he hadn't asked for more since she got back, it was sweet that he was thinking of her first.

Mard leaned forward and gently stroked her cheek before placing a kiss to her forehead, "you do, and I believe I like you as well." Lucy's mouth went wide as Mard left the bed to go enjoy the meal. It was the sweetest little confession and one she certainly had expected.

Lucy knew not to mistake a simple affection for something deeper but the way he said it would have her heart replaying that scene a million times. She padded over to the small table and sat down on the stool as Mard reached across and set a fully loaded plate in front of her. "Thank you," she said at his thoughtfulness.

"You are welcome, if you are up for it, I would like to go back to discussing our research," he said as he took a few pieces of bacon and the rest of the pancakes.

"I have to finish my calculations on it," she said as she took a bite of the bacon.

"I was trying to sort through them while you were gone. I think I have figured it out based on an old myth," he said, and Lucy swallowed her piece and looked at him curiously.

Mard sipped his coffee and put down the plain white cup, "there is a myth that a dying star will consume a living one and the light it creates will fuel magic to destroy a god. If we are correct and this is about the former God of Life, that energy could be used in divine curse removal."

Lucy got up from her stool and went over to the conversation area, she picked up the scattered pieces of paper and quickly organized them in their proper order. As she nibbled her bottom lip, she felt Mard come up behind her, his body heat enveloping her as he placed his narrow chin on her shoulder. It was comforting to feel him, and Lucy went through the calculations, factoring a standard gravity field from a black hole. Also known as a dead star.

"For that to work, the living star would need to be larger and denser than the original one that went nova. Though it's gravity field shouldn't allow it to be sucked in, so which means we must look at a twin star system. The stars would have to be…" she started working through the calculations as Mard started to gently massage her shoulders.

The calculations swirled around her head and the answer started to come at her. Lucy stepped away and grabbed the calendar, as she looked at it, she noticed a date was circled and smiled. "You are three days off, it is actually this date."

Mard looked over and smiled, "I am not the astronomy expert here, Rosebud."

"True, but hey based off of an old myth and for following my math, I say you did pretty good," she replied.

"Well thank you." They chuckled for a moment and took a step closer to each other. She could feel the pull in the air to kiss him, to feel his soft lips upon hers and her heart beat increased a little.

They took another step their eyes locked on to each other when she felt a spike of magic and the calendar was ripped from her hands. She tried to reach for it but Mard stepped in front of her and she looked around him to see Zeref standing there.

"Science versus religion. This is interesting and excellent to note. My plans were going to allow you to carry this baby to term but apparently that is not the case. Thank you for this," he said with a disgusting smile on his face.

"You can't, I'll only be 6 months by then…" Lucy said.

"Oh, I can, your child would not have lived long but at least now I can make sure my plans will succeed. Be a pity to kill the child and fail," he said with detachment.

Mard let out a low growl and Lucy wasn't fast enough as he moved and speared into Zeref. The two mages dropping to the ground as Mard pulled his arm back and punched Zeref in the face. "That is my child!" he yelled as he went to hit Zeref again. This time Zeref caught the punch and with ease tossed Mard off him.

Mard crashed into the red carpet, his head hitting against the bed frame with a loud crack, Lucy raced to his side. He was up too quickly and went for Zeref again but this time the mage had simply vanished. He roared and Lucy covered her ears, having never heard such an ungodly sound before. Though she recognized it for what it was, pain. Mard Geer was in pain at the thought of their now very real child being killed.

His thoughts were all over the place and in _Infernai_, so Lucy didn't understand but she had never heard him so disjointed and upset. She tried to reach out for Mard, anything to comfort him as he sank to his knees. Lucy joined him and very slowly moved to hold him, resting his head against her chest and stroking his hair. Much like he had done for her, it was the least she could do.

After a moment his screaming turned to tears as he sobbed all over her. Lucy noticed that he placed one warm hand against her middle as he wept. Her heart broke and while holding him, she began to cry to. The reality just hit her. Had they not started this whole research thing, Zeref never would have found out his mistake and maybe they could keep the child. Then again, he seemed determined to kill it, regardless. The only difference was that now, he was going to have to rip into her body for the child.

"N-no, he could not, Rosebud. I will not let him. I will not let him take our baby and hurt you," Mard said through his tears.

"I know, Mard, I know, it's okay. We have a few more months to figure this out. As long as we are…" she could feel a pull on her body and suddenly she was somewhere else.

Lucy couldn't feel Mard and her room was darker and colder. It was a straight up prison cell with a rickety cot, a thin piece of material for a blanket and a bucket in the corner. She moved towards the bars and looked around before she started screaming. "You promised! You were going to let Mard and I stay together!"

She screamed till her throat hurt, she screamed with every last bit of energy in her body. No one answered her, no one told her to shut up or anything. Lucy was completely alone and now completely scared.

* * *

_Thank you for the comments, kudos and bookmarks! _

_As always please, comment, kudo and bookmark, it supports Mard's coffee fund LOL_

_Up Next - Separation Anxiety_


	6. Separation Anxiety

I do not own Fairy Tail... yeah big surprise, right?

* * *

Lucy rose from the floor, her knees protesting after spending too much time on the cold textured concrete. She shivered as she pulled her robe a little tighter and wiped the cuff under her eyes to clear away the moisture. Her throat hurt from all the screaming and she tried to swallow her own saliva for something to drink. To her it was apparent she wasn't going to receive anything to help her while she was in this cell.

There was no window and the grey walls shimmered a bit in the very faint light from the sconces on the wall outside her prison. As far as she could tell, it was also using an anti-magic field. So there would be no chance for escape, but what did she expect?

She had one idea and slowly made her way to the little cot, her right knee popping, causing her to yip at the sudden stab of pain. Lucy limped the short distance to the cot, took the thin grey blanket and folded it to hopefully thicken it. She sat on the bed and draped it over her lap to cover her exposed legs.

Lucy took in a deep breath and tried to mentally call out for Mard. Her mind felt the pushback and she couldn't hear him. She was determined and tried it again, this time calling up a clearer image of him and using whatever she had left for strength. _Mard?_

Her only reply was an echo of her own thought, there was nothing. She couldn't feel the unusual mental warmth that came out of their connection. Instead she might as well been screaming in an echo chamber. To her it made sense, after all it's one thing to be in the same anti-magic cell together and another to each be in their own cells. It also occurred to her that she may not even be in the same building.

This could not be good for the baby and though Zeref planned to kill her child, she still felt a desire to protect the little life. It wasn't the baby's fault. She or he didn't ask to come into the world this way and didn't deserve such a fate. Lucy put a hand over her still flat stomach and lightly rubbed it up and down. Whether she was trying to soothe herself of the innocent little being in her, she wasn't certain.

Her heart was solidly in the mix, the news that Zeref was going to get what he wanted was such a mixture. In one aspect Lucy was a little excited, having dreamt of being a mother for a few years now. In another regard it was a little life that only had one purpose, to die for Zeref's own personal gain. A child she would carry and then be forced to lose before she got to experience what it felt to be a mother.

A single tear slid down her cheek as her mind also replayed Mard losing his mind. How she saw a complete vicious streak in him when he impulsively attacked Zeref. The way he screamed "That is my child!" there was so much passion in his voice, it surprised her. Everything about those few seconds left her mind scrambled in bewilderment.

Lucy had asked Mard about demon parents and his answer was vague but honest at the same time. He had told her how some demon fathers are and how he had no idea how he was going to react or what he would inevitably feel towards it. Though he did warn her that it would be in their best interests to not dwell on it. She tried, but after knowing that she is having a child, Lucy was stuck only dwelling on this small life.

It is one thing to discuss something on the abstract but another to handle the reality. She decided that this reality could go fuck itself. Lucy wanted her baby and as she pictured her child, she could easily see Mard with them.

He'd most likely have some kind of snarky nickname for the baby and stars above help the first idiot who made baby cry. Lucy chuckled as she pictured having a baby that was exactly like him. A kind of resting smirk, demanding coffee in their bottle, unable to use contractions and be the world's greatest cuddler. Well after Mard because that demon could cuddle, and it was kind of cute. Though he liked to say it was her fault, that she would insist on being held but oh no, Lucy knew better. They had the weirdest fights.

Lucy had hoped to save the research, to hand it over to Zeref as soon as her water broke and laugh in his face that his plan failed. She could savoir the disappointment and rage in his boyish looks as all this plotting for decades just came apart because math is hard. No one ever said Lucy didn't have a vicious streak in her, just she hadn't met anyone she despised more than Zeref. He was a sick fuck, end of story.

Even then, when dealing with such a sicko he would most likely have a contingency plan. Possibly involving time travel or magically preserving their child's blood for another few hundred years. The light they would see in a few more months would be a pulse from the nova event from it's original journey hundreds of years ago. Then it would take unknown additional years for the pulse of light from when the other star exploded from the shock wave. Lucy was planning on sorting out that math, but that was not going to happen.

She shivered as the cell felt like it was getting colder for no reason. Lucy curled on her side and worked with the thin blanket to try anything she could to conserve heat. She breathed on her hands and warmed them together knowing that her teeth were going to start chattering soon. What kind of idiot puts a pregnant woman in a fucking freezer?

Zeref was apparently that kind of idiot. The baby was so important to him but not when he was pissed. She bet he'd have a good shiner or a cut lip from when Mard punched him. Conversely, she bet Mard was going to have a raging headache and a decent sized lump on his head from when he hit the bed frame. Though he wouldn't feel that till his adrenaline waned from his body.

Despite the fact she was freezing her ass off, she was concerned for the demon. Lucy didn't know when it started happening, but she knew she really did like him. If she had to pick a favorite moment, it was difficult to choose but that first bone melting kiss in the shower (when not drugged) never left her thoughts. Each time he kissed her, or she kissed him since, her toes wanted to curl on impact.

It wasn't difficult to be attracted to Mard Geer and figuring him out was much easier than sorting through some of her own team members' issues. With Mard all she had to do was supply coffee, cuddles, snark, and in general be herself. Hell, he was the first guy she didn't have to feel as if she needed to hide something about herself to keep him around.

It was one of her biggest problems with Jellal. Yes, she liked her space, but she also wanted him to want to be around her. It wouldn't have killed him to put her somewhere on the priority list or let her help him heal from his past. Nope and instead she had to pretend to like the little he was giving her emotionally and not ask for more. Well hell with that, Lucy had needs too and it took a fucking demon villain to be okay with that?

Lucy knew that somewhere inside of herself she was connected to Mard and not just because of their baby or the copious amounts of sex or the mating mark down her back. That she never felt freer in her life than to be in a prison cell with him. Oh shit, maybe she was getting Stockholm Syndrome or something like that. Maybe she had just finally lost her mind, could be it.

She chuckled as shivered again, and for a moment in the very dim cell thought she saw the vapor from her own mouth. That would not be good. If only Mard was here to warm her up and holy shit, that naked demon could keep any girl hot all night.

Lucy groaned as her brain went into super happy hardcore mode, pulling out flashes of their sexual encounters. Fragments of incomplete scenes was all she had of those times and she did have a couple racy dreams about him to draw from. Her brain was an ass, but it was a funny one as everything changed from memories of sex to the time she threw a pillow at him and everything descended into chaos. It was akin to watching two kids, not grown adults, hitting each other with black pillows while calling out schoolyard insults in jest.

Mard Geer had his ass handed to him in that pillow fight and surprisingly the pillows did not break. There was no massive feather cloud all over the room. All there was was two people laughing at each other in one moment that let her forget all of this. It was also that moment as he surrendered to her that she initiated the kiss.

That little kiss almost turned into their real first-time having sex but Mard stopped her in time. He wanted her to think through everything clearly before doing something so important. Lucy couldn't get over the care and concern in his features, the softness of his large midnight eyes or the soft smile on his plush lips. Her heart thumped in her chest and Lucy smiled a little more before she tensed.

Was it possible? Was that the moment when Lucy may have kind of fallen in love with Mard Geer Tartaros?

That moment of vulnerability, thoughtfulness, and seeing something in his eyes that drew her in. If she concentrated on the memory, she thought he was going to say something to her. Something emotional but he clammed up and changed gears. He was so guarded at times and Lucy started to wonder if he was trying to protect himself as much as she was trying to save herself.

It would be a stupid idea and damnit one of them was going to have to take a leap. Lucy knew it made the most sense for her to be that person because Mard was only learning about emotions. She knew it would not be fair to ask or expect someone to confess love if they didn't understand it. That was it, Lucy was going to have to teach the demon about what love is. Easiest way to teach him, show him and as her heart thundered in her chest about confessing to Mard she started to feel her eye lids grow heavy.

Despite being in a strange, dark, and stupidly cold cell, she really wanted to take a nap. Which might be dangerous given the cold seeping through the blanket and her robe. Lucy kept trying to think of things to laugh about or even a scientific puzzle to solve. She had to do whatever it took to stay awake, otherwise she may never wake again.

Which meant she would never get to tell Mard how she feels or be there for her daughter. Cause Lucy had a feeling that their child was going to be a little girl. It was such a strange little hunch that felt right but above all she could only picture Mard trying to deal with two of them on the same period cycle. Lucy started laughing as she pictured him groveling with offerings of chocolate for both. Of course, in this fantasy her daughter was the spitting image of her, complete with same laugh and everything.

It's her fantasy, though part of her said to bet on their first daughter to look like a female Mard. Her creative brain spent a moment picturing Mard in drag and she started giggling again as she saw him trip over the heels as he tried to walk. Though damn he looked good in some ritzy full-length black dress with his hair down and a little smoky eye going on. Lucy was shaking as she laughed so hard at the mental image, especially as he showed off the thigh high stockings with little roses on them.

Lucy knew her brain was messed up and thank the stars for that. Cause right now, it was the only thing that keeping her awake and not still crying her eyes out. So, she decided to follow this little Fabulous Miss Mard fantasy just to keep laughing. If anything, it was helping to keep her blood flowing and a little warmth as she laughed.

She had just gotten to the part of her little concocted story of seeing herself in a black pin striped suit, smart fedora and sitting on a red leather couch as the Fabulous Miss Mard stripped. In her mind he was one hell of a dancer as his thin hips swayed to the old-style music in this vintage setting. It was then that the fantasy shut down and Lucy, despite the risk, fell asleep with a slight smile on her face and a small flutter in her heart.

* * *

Mard waved his hands around in the empty space, panic coming over him as Rosebud just vanished. He felt the rage boil inside of him as his body tensed and his mind slipped into the single track of wanting to torture Zeref. Murder would be too polite.

"You promised!" he shouted. Zeref swore to them as a kin of demonkind that he would not do this. That they would be together and now that she was his mate, that promise was imperative.

There was no answer and Mard sank on the bed, he felt a sense of worry, fear and other things he had no idea he could feel with her suddenly being taken from him. It was more than just feeling punished or slighted by Zeref breaking his promise, it was a sense of being incomplete. Mard rubbed his chest as his heart started to feel pain. That was unusual for him, how could his body have such a painful way of expressing the emotional turmoil in his head.

His mate and child were ripped away from him, with a literal snap of fingers. How weak was he that he couldn't protect them? That he couldn't get more than one sucker punch in on the dark lord before he was tossed like nothing. His chest burned as his head began to throb where it cracked into the bed frame. If Rosebud was here, she would tend to him with that beautiful smile of hers and the unique warmth she had.

She was always perfect for that, despite the fact she had every reason to hate him, she chose not to. No, she chose to make the best of this horrendous situation and be his friend. The only other friend he ever had in his life, but it also felt like more. Whatever emotion this was it was enough that Mard could feel it through his very being. It was more than enough for him to make her his for all eternity.

If only he could talk to her but with the magical enchantments and Zeref not being completely inept, he knew the telepathic link would go nowhere. Yet he had this feeling that maybe it just might and Mard closed his eyes and concentrated on her.

Mard knew all the tricks behind his telepathy, having pulled off a few interesting feats with it in the past and was optimistic he could do this. That odds where she was trying to call out for him, that this wasn't normal magic and so he had a chance. He dropped into a light meditation building a complete mental image of her, even down to her laugh.

That laugh and her smile made him smile, especially when he thought about a pillow fight they had once. It was a charming moment where they regressed into being children all for the sake of laughter. She was a tough opponent in both her skill with a pillow, but her childish insults were funnier than scathing. Mard chuckled at the memory, his laughter fading when he realized that he almost said something that may or may not have been true.

That perhaps he cared for her above the fondness he felt. Was that love? He had no idea, but it was something. Something that warmed him every time he looked at her or talked with her for hours. Something that just made him feel as if he was finally complete. A unique kind of feeling that he only had for her and ever experienced around her, and it was getting stronger every day.

Now she was carrying his child, it only compounded the issue. Mard never knew how he would react to being a parent. Unsure if he would be like some demon fathers and simply not care or be like many others who had a strong paternal link with their child. Judging by his reaction he was going to be a fierce father. Though for all his fierceness he bet that Rosebud would make him look weak by comparison. She had such a strength to her, it was unlike anything Mard had ever witnessed.

His emotions set to the side he went back to meditating and trying to communicate with her. Least mentally they could both have comfort while dealing with this sudden separation. _Rosebud?_

Nothing. He couldn't feel anything as he called out for her, not even a ripple. Mard growled in frustration as he sat up, his head throbbing at the sudden movement. He traced his fingers through his hair and felt the large bump on the side of his head and groaned. His demon healing would have this fixed, but it was a bit slower than normal due to his powers being sealed. Least it was something and as he studied his pale fingers, he was glad they were not coated in blood.

He stood up and figured that a cold washcloth should help with the swelling. As he crossed towards the bathroom he mumbled under his breath, "he made a promise as a kin to demonkind."

"I did, however I believe a bit of punishment is in order," Zeref said. Mard looked over and saw a very smug looking Zeref behind his wall of glass. Of course, the dark one would not speak to him in person, the small split in his lip gave Mard a sense of satisfaction.

"For how long? She and our progeny are mine," Mard countered as he took steps towards the glass. His eyes locked onto Zeref as his body radiated the hatred he was feeling. His muscles felt warm and he clenched his fists, almost feeling ready to turn into his Etherious form and smashing everything. The power was sealed, and he knew that, all he had was what was left of his considerable strength in this form.

"How much longer will it take you to calm yourself? You had the gall to strike me, your lord."

Mard froze as Zeref swiped at his cut lip and gently smeared the blood against the glass. He should have known that Zeref would do this. For a mage who wanted to die, he had issues with being attacked or in pain.

"I had every right to strike you." he said trying to pull back his hatred.

Zeref licked his cut lip, his eyes still locked on Mard in a silent dare for him to lash out. "The child will die; the only difference is now I am saving your mate from child birth. A clinical removal is fine, I just need the heart blood."

"She was not be hurt and this is gruesome even for you," Mard pointed out.

"Child birth is painful, so I hear." He shrugged, his voice impassive, "it is not as if I was going to throw you a baby shower and let you keep the child once birthed. There is no problem here Mard Geer."

Mard knew that Zeref was right, that he willingly agreed to this when Rosebud first appeared. At the time it was just a concept, now… Now it was real, she was carrying his child. That child would have a heartbeat, little claws and baby toes. Would be a piece of him and her, a future King or Queen of the Underworld. His own line moving forward as all life does. A child with the power of the stars and his own demonic heritage. It was real and now this little demonling was sentenced to die, potentially with his mate as well.

"Now you must remove the child by surgical means, that puts Rose…" he pursed his lips and corrected himself as quickly as he could, "Lucy in danger."

"Rosebud? Is that what you are thinking? So, you have then. Has the mighty Mard Geer, absolute master of his emotions finally fallen in love?" Zeref's tone was mocking, daring Mard to strike against him or scream. That would not do. This game could only be won in one fashion, by losing his pride.

Mard kept his coal black eyes on Zeref's eyes as he dropped down to one knee, "I do not understand love, so I do not have it for her. She does not share it for me. What we have is a mating bond and a fetus. Please, give them back to me," he dropped forward, lowering his head to rest on his hands before him on the red carpeting, "I beg you."

He waited, counted his breaths, listened to his own heartbeat thunder wildly in his chest, and closed his eyes so that tears could not escape them. There was a limit as to how much of his pride he was willing to lose to have them back, this was it. Mard Geer would not cry, would do nothing more than play the game Zeref liked best. The game of abject submission, a game Mard was raised to play with the dark lord and always lose.

"I see you remember your place," he said. Mard did not move and said nothing, he was letting Zeref have this moment to gloat and enjoy his humiliation. If only Rosebud understood just what this meant, what he was degrading himself to just to save her and their little demonling. Perhaps it would be best if she did not know.

Zeref sighed, "very well. Though next time you feel ready to strike me, remember that what I give, I can and will take from you."

"Yes, my lord," he said, still in the same position because Zeref had not given him permission to rise.

"Rise," Zeref said simply and Mard obeyed coming back up to his feet in a fluid motion. As he looked ahead, he saw the cement wall instead of the glass and took in a small breath.

A tingle of power in the room and he turned around to see Rosebud laying on the bed. She was shivering and curled up in a small ball, the scent of tears clinging to her. Mard went over to the bed and slid on the black silk sheets to wrap his body around her. As his hand made contact with her shoulder she screamed.

"Ssshhh, it is Mard. It is alright Rosebud, you are back," he whispered as her large coffee colored eyes opened.

Her hand reached up, shaking a little and he took it, placing a small kiss to her knuckles. "M-Mard, oh stars…" she whispered as they moved so that she was safely in his arms and he could warm her up. Wherever Zeref moved her, did not have much for heat and it had to of terrified her. Mard understood the warning, that she would have very little care if she was not with him. That she was now the newest leash Zeref could yank to keep him in line.

The only thing Zeref didn't count on, was that this was not going to deter him. This was going to fuel his hatred and grant him more power. This was going to make Mard Geer Tartaros successful in one day destroying his own master.

"S-so cold," she said.

"Hot shower and change of clothing then," he said and pursed his lips. Mard knew he should say something else, something more than just dealing with the practical issue at hand. Though what to say was a mystery but he should try and maybe it would be the right words. Rosebud couldn't hate him for trying, could she?

She started to giggle and Mard was perplexed for a moment. _Your mind is so funny, it's okay Mard. I get it._

_Get what exactly?_ He asked as she nuzzled his bare chest a little before placing a soft kiss above his sternum.

_That you really do like me and I confuse the hell out of you._ Her internal voice was accented in laughter, it wasn't that she was teasing him _per se_, just that she was finding his lack of emotional knowledge adorable. Which no one ever put Mard Geer and adorable in the same sentence… And lived.

"Should you not be mad at me?" he asked, knowing they needed to switch to vocal conversation to keep their secret. Least he hoped at this point it was still a secret.

"For getting angry? You didn't know he was going to do that," she sighed as her trembling started to slow down and he could feel her body getting warmer.

"That was ill advised, I should have known better Rosebud," he said as she tilted her head up and looked at him. Mard met her eyes and softly cupped her cheek, running his thumb over her soft skin.

"You broke, it's okay, I was ready to hit the fucker too. Just you're faster."

Mard chuckled, "I cut that bastard's lip with that strike."

Rosebud smiled at him, "good."

"You got punished because of me. Why are you finding this amusing?" he asked, absolutely perplexed by her behavior. She was somewhere cold, and she was the one taken out of the room. Rosebud should be furious at him for her treatment because he could not keep his temper in check. Mard knew she was very early in the pregnancy and was at risk for losing the child. Then again, if they could not get free, they were going to lose the child months from now.

Rosebud licked her bottom lip and leaned forward, giving him a soft simple kiss. "It just shows you care, even if you haven't consciously figured it out."

"I said I like you, what more can I say? Rosebud you are being…" his voice trailed off as he tried to find a word that didn't sound insulting. If Mard had his choice, he would take laughing and teasing Rosebud over the alternative. If she wanted to be angry at him, he could not stop nor blame her. Mard certainly would have been angry if this had happened to him.

"Weird?" she teased as her fingers entwined with his along his side.

"That is as good a word as I can pick."

She laughed again, "I guess I am kind of weird right now. I realized something in the other cell."

Mard arched a brow, "what did you figure out?"

"Enough to know," she gave him another simple kiss as she squeezed his hand and wiggled a little closer to him, "I think I kind of love you and her, cause I've decided it's a girl demon."

"I thought I made that decision," he said as he tried to process the fact that his mate may very well be in love with him. Whatever that meant.

"Normally yes, but I think my body would have rejected all your male sperm. Just to annoy you with having two of me around," she said, and he chuckled. Leave it to his Rosebud to think she had all the answers, but it didn't matter. Male or female the little spawnling was all theirs and he hoped they had her eyes and laugh.

"You think I would be annoyed with two of you? I am a much stronger demon than that," he said.

"Wait till our menstrual cycles…" her voice trailed off and Mard saw the tear fall out of her eye. Reality came back into the picture again destroying this little moment to be happy to be together and talking about Spawnling. Which was a good enough nickname, almost cute and appropriate in case she was wrong, and it was a male child in her womb.

"Rosebud, it will be alright. We will get through this and at worse case if we fail, we will still have each other and more chances to have as many demonlings as you want," he said keeping his voice soft and trying to soothe her.

"I don't want just more, I want her," she protested as she sobbed into his chest. He felt that pain with her, cause the truth was, Mard Geer didn't just want more progeny, he wanted this little one too. He was always strangely selfish like that.

He let her cry for a few minutes before he pulled back a little and tilted her head up. Her eyes were red, puffy and her lips trembled as she looked a mess. It didn't matter, all that mattered was the beating of his heart as he kissed her and held her tight. Mard poured every emotion he could find into that kiss along with a silent promise to keep them safe, no matter the cost.

* * *

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Cobra asked as he ran a hand through his maroon hair and growled. Out of all the stupid shit he heard in his life, this was numero uno.

"We understand, Master Bob, thank you for your assistance," Greenie said as he disconnected the lacrima call. Cobra really wanted to go punch that jolly makeup fabulous fat fuck so hard right now.

He paced around the stateroom as Lightbulb and Greenie whispered. Why couldn't they take the airship to this Alverez place? Last he heard it would only take them like two days to get to the border. Now they would have to fucking walk or take a stupid ass train? Seriously did no one give a flying fuck about Sunshine? They already wasted two fucking months here and who the hell even knew if she was still alive?

She better be otherwise he'd never forgive himself if she wasn't. Hell, Jellal would murder the fuck out of him. Then again, she's like an adorkable little cockroach, nuclear bomb go off and her skirt might be singed but she'd still be smiling.

He spun around to do another lap, his long strides making short work of the light room. His eye was busy watching his feet until he saw a pair of black combat boots standing about shoulder width apart in his way. Strong hands grabbed his shoulders and he looked up to scowl at Lightbulb.

"Chill, this ain't the end of everything. Freed has an idea, it's gonna cost some serious cash, but we can do it," he said.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" he asked, and Lightbulb dared to fucking smile all sweet and sassy like at him. You know the kind of smile that get to the corner of your eyes and looks like your planning to cause a little mischief on some random dude. Yeah that smile.

"Cobra, they have a unique kind of vehicle here that does not run on magical energy from the mage. It collects random Etheremo particles as it moves and stores that as energy," Greenie said, and Cobra knew he was looking over at the guy as if he was the village idiot. Right now, that's exactly what he felt like.

"Da fuck?" he asked.

Lightbulb laughed, "yeah it's a form of tech magic, a type of hover bike, rides so damn smooth it doesn't trigger motion sickness."

"That's actually due to the famous Minstrellian Traveler's Charm that is imbedded into each bike," Greenie added, and Cobra scratched his head, certain he was really was the village idiot. In fact, he was adding that shit to his resume in the special skills section after being an asshole.

"English, do you mother fuckers speak it?" he asked as Lightbulb chuckled and squeezed his shoulders. Not enough to hurt, just enough to you know make him start thinking about strong hands holding his hips, but that thought was neither here… Oh fuck that, those thoughts were always there. Fuck he wanted his mate.

"We get fast bike, no get sickie, and get to Alvarez in a week," Lightbulb said, nice, slow, and totally condescending. Cobra grinned at him before he laughed, cause shit that was funny.

"Thanks to Merlin, we know she is in the main castle of the empire in the south west wing. The spell she gave me was impressive and I am almost furious at myself for not thinking of using Celestine as the base language for the Runes. Then again…" Greenie started saying some shit about impossible languages or dead languages or whatever the hell it was that he went off about. Cobra didn't know, didn't really care either, all he knew was that there was one very big problem.

"This hombre ain't got millions to his name, so what do I do?" he asked.

"Easy, you ride as my bitch," Lightbulb said with a wink that got him a proper punch to the shoulder. He glared at Cobra and widened his stance, "alright, you want foreplay, bring it."

Cobra slipped off his white jacket, letting it fall to the purple carpeted ground as he cracked his neck for show. The two slayers glared at each other, both in their stances, waiting for the right moment.

"I shall take my leave then to go purchase the vehicles, enjoy," Greenie said, and Cobra didn't bother to reply as he kept his guard up and watched the lightning slayer intently.

"Come get you some," Cobra mocked as he readied for the first strike, knowing that the big dude favored his right and he expected the first punch to come from that direction. He'd seen his mate fight a few times before and if there was one talent Cobra had it was tactically understanding how to hurt a player. Though he wasn't just thinking of winning this fight he was thinking of something else and his inner dragon roared to life.

Lightbulb moved and instead of coming at him with a nice right hook, he went for a sweeping kick. Not a bad opening move but child's fucking play and Cobra countered it but jumping up and kicking him right in the head, knocking him back on his ass.

Cobra dived on top of him and the two went at it, rolling around on the floor in a tangle of limbs and fierce growls. They punched, slapped and ripped at each other's clothing, which damn he loved that "I bite…" purple t-shirt that was now shredded. At some point a light wooden stool or two may have snapped and went flying in the no rules messy brawl that ensued.

He had Lightbulb under the table, his navy shirt almost ripped completely off showing some beautiful cut lines of solid muscle and that killer tribal tat over his right side. Cobra wanted to sit up a bit more and take in the whole picture, but fuck if he wanted a concussion from hitting the back of his head against this solid mass of wood. Speaking of solid mass of wood…

"Fuck, what the hell are we doing?" he asked as he licked his lips and teasingly ran his blunt nails down his mate's chest.

Lightbulb sucked in a breath between his teeth, his stormy eyes looking fierce and damn the man was hawt. A little sweaty, little angry and he was legit walking sex in denim and ripped silk. Cobra was fixated on following his darker fingers trace along the curves of his mate's sculpted muscles that he missed the part where he was being rolled over suddenly.

"Woah," he said as the air rushed out of his lungs and the back of his head hit the floor but at least they weren't under the table and holy fuck. Lightbulb might just devour him, least judging by that look on his face.

There wasn't much to talk about as they kissed, teeth bashing against each other as their tongues explored every nuance of each other's mouths. Cobra felt his body relax a little as they pawed at each other during the kiss. Hands reaching to destroy every bit of clothing they could find or caress every bit of flesh that was exposed.

Cobra sucked on his mate's tongue, and used the distraction to roll them over again, putting himself on top as he straddled Lightbulb's naked hips. They were both hard and their kiss suddenly stopped when their erections slid along each other, the friction short circuiting his brain.

"Fuck," Cobra moaned as he moved his hips to feel that again. Lightbulb moved one hand between their bodies his hand wrapping around Cobra's cock and giving him a firm pump. Fuck this was better than his fapping mental sessions, like all his porn dreams coming true. Even if it was on the floor of a ship and only half his jeans had been torn off.

"Guess you really do have an anaconda," he teased.

"You think I could lie about that shit?"

"Yeah, cause it's you," he stroked him again and Cobra moaned, "how far?"

Everything stopped as Cobra's brain woke the fuck up and reminded him to be careful. They did this wrong and fuck its game over, but would that be such a damn bad thing? The last two months they had some fun ass dates and seriously hot make out sessions, why was he still fighting this shit? Why not just go all the way and take the man he wanted to call his own?

"Fuck, I'm a broke ass criminal with a bad attitude and love of poison. You're like not," he said his lips pulling down in a frown. Cobra had never been ashamed of who he was before but around his mate he felt kind of useless. Like his mate was all rich and powerful as fuck and what exactly would he bring to this relationship?

Lightbulb curled a hand behind his neck and shook him, that shit had Cobra's attention, along with that other hand still slowly stroking his cock. "I got a second chance, big difference. Go legit, I'll be with you and fuck the fact your broke. It's just money, they print more of it every day."

"I suck at being legit and there's like a shit ton of warrants for me," he admitted as he decided to start playing with Lightbulb's amazing cock. Dude was thick as hell and there was a mild pulse of electricity that came off him. That was kind of sexy.

"We save Blondie and it's all good, she's got an in with the royalty."

"You think she would? Like pardon this fine ass?"

Lightbulb gave him a sly smile, "well maybe if you're my mate…"

Cobra grinned at him before they started laughing, "oh fuck, nice blackmail."

"You think nature would hand you a mate that couldn't give it back to you?" he asked, and Cobra thought it over for a fucking moment.

"Hell no! Lightbulb I choose you!"

He groaned, "oh fuck you, I ain't a goddamn Pokemon, asshole," he said.

"Speaking of assholes, that's Captain Asshole to you and I'm in charge of this booty party!" Cobra said before he leaned down and kissed his snickering mate. So, what if there wasn't silk sheets or roses or candles or anything else for that romantic vibe. All that mattered was the fact that Cobra was finally going to get his mate on and that would be that.

"So over here… oh my god!" a high-pitched voice screamed into the room and both slayers froze. Cobra turned his head and saw one of the female sailors standing there wide eyed and freaking out as a small group of bald-headed Mind Scions all started pretending to be interested in the ceiling.

"Little privacy, chica," he said as she fumed and threw her clipboard at him, luckily, she was a bad thrower and completely missed his head.

"Wait till I tell Master Bob!" There was a scuffling of feet as the door slammed behind a very pissed off lady ushering and apologizing to the group.

Cobra looked down and saw the cutest fucking blush hit Lightbulb's chiseled cheeks. "Well, so much for that. Raincheck?"

"Yeah, raincheck."

* * *

_Oh I know! I'm evil! Leaving you all hanging again like that... but really it wasn't my fault... like who gives a tour around the ship when there's some boy love in the stateroom?_

_*innocent batting of the eyes*_

_Anyways... please review, fave and follow!_

_Up Next: Welcome to Alvarez!_


	7. Welcome to Alvarez

Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail. I should have legit named this chapter, Everybody Gets Laid. Enjoy!

* * *

Laxus stood off to the side, hoisting his black utility duffle bag on his shoulder as Freed worked his magic to conceal the hover bikes. Cobra was standing down wind, catching a smoke for his quick hit of poison and taking a quick stretch. The ride here had been uneventful and a great chance to spend some time camping, hunting and little fishing. He had to admit those bikes were fucking awesome.

According to Freed there is a political tension between Minstrel and Alverez and so anything Minstrellian was outlawed. Their hover bikes were not allowed over the border and so they had to find a place to stash them and take a nice walk the rest of the way. They should make it to Vistarion in a few hours, assuming people could fucking move it.

He watched as the entrance to the cave vanished and Freed slipped his foil back into the holster at his waist. Good thing his best friend was resourceful and whatever the fuck Merlin did during that kiss made Freed a rockstar in Mente. Hell, they even got a 50% off discount on the bikes because he had that tattoo. Laxus tried to ask him about it but for once, Freed just wouldn't discuss it.

"We should be set," he said as he adjusted his own hiking backpack over his burgundy coat. Leave it to Freed to wear his proper clothes while roughing it in the woods.

"Alright," Laxus said with a short nod as he waved over Cobra, "let's get moving, smoke break over."

"Bite me," Cobra grumbled as he started walking towards them. Laxus shook his head and grabbed his silver aviation sunglasses off his head and turned to start walking, asshole could catch up.

The trio walked in comfortable silence with Laxus in the middle. Freed looked lost in thought as Cobra kept randomly looking over his shoulder. He got it, Cobra was wanted everywhere and had a natural paranoia to him. That paranoia was one of the reasons they hadn't mated yet, guy was legit scared of fucking it up. There wasn't any shame in it and yeah, Laxus wanted him, when you love someone with issues, you deal with it or get the fuck out.

They almost got it on on the airship but that fucking tour group just had to ruin it. Laxus knew he could ask Freed to go camp away for a night and they could have finished this on the road, but it would not have made sense. Since he hadn't travelled over to this side of Ishgar, who the fuck knew when random demons or Vulcans were going to jump out at them. It made more sense to stick together.

Right now, the plan was to rescue Blondie after surveillance. Once she was safe, Laxus was going to not give Cobra any more get out of jail free cards. They were going to finish this. That much he promised to himself and to Cobra.

"Hey, you got any snacks?" Cobra asked.

"You can wait till we get to the city, gotta find an inn and some grub," he said trying to keep the poison slayer focused. Guy also had that for an issue, like everything was joke and sometimes Laxus wondered if he was talking to other people. Maybe he was a little crazy but considering his powers, yeah he'd probably be insane from constantly eating things that could kill him for power.

"Fine," he said as he shoved his hands into his white coat pockets and looked indignant. Laxus chuckled and wrapped his large arm around his thinner shoulders, pulling him for a kiss to the top of the head. "Yo, fuck off, stop being cute," he said as he pushed him off with a laugh.

"I think tonight, you two should finish working out your mating issues," Freed said flatly.

"Oh, you wanna watch, Greenie?" Cobra teased.

"No, I think there has been enough tension and Laxus thinks better when he's gotten a piece of ass," Freed shot back.

"Hey now!" Laxus protested, "I will not be dragged into this. Freed keep your opinions to yourself. Cobra just shut the fuck up."

"Who died and made you King Shit?" the poison slayer joked and Laxus glared at him over the rims of his sunglasses. Cobra gave him a mock salute and grinned, that was not going to be good. Just once it would be nice if Cobra could take something seriously, just once.

"Laxus has always been a natural leader," Freed said as he pointed towards a road with a wooden sign anchored to the side.

"How many hours have you kissed his ass?" Cobra asked and Laxus shook his head. This was only going to descend into chaos between the two. Though for as much as they would get into these teasing moments, the two had a strange way of working together. Freed did the plan; Cobra did the killing. It was kind of odd.

"Less than you," Freed pulled out a white embroidered handkerchief and held it out for Cobra, "your nose needs attention."

"Lightbulb, why can't I poison him?" he asked as he flipped Freed off.

"Cause he's pretty," Laxus said, "also we need him. For some reason, that he won't explain to his best friend, the most powerful mage in history marked him and we kind of need her on our side."

"Laxus, must we?"

"Fuck where's my popcorn?" Cobra asked as they stopped by the sign. Right down the road in 5 miles was the city and Laxus honestly couldn't wait for a decent shower. Also, he needed a little alone time, because they were starting to drive him nuts.

Laxus took in a deep breath, taking in the scents of the area when his nose detected something impossible. He took off his glasses and looked around, "shut up!" he yelled so he could focus his hearing. He could hear the wind, a few animals moving through the bushes and hushed whispers in the distance.

"Yo, what's up?" Cobra whispered and took in a sniff of the air, "dude, what the fuck?"

"Freed go ahead to town, I gotta check this out," he said and Freed gave him a short nod before continuing on. Laxus looked over at Cobra who was pointing in the same direction he was thinking. "Let's go."

Laxus took off at his best speed, sniffing the air and listening for anything. He ran into the thick woods, narrowly squeezing between trees, jumping over a bush and careful to not plant his big black boot into the small rabbit hole. Cause fuck that would be embarrassing. Cobra moved a little quicker, his slimmer build having an easier time getting around. Up ahead he saw the sunlight for a clearing filter through the pine trees and he stopped.

Cobra shrugged and kept moving, only when Laxus heard the "da fuck!" did he follow. As he came out of the woods, he ripped off his glasses and marched over towards the small ageing man in a brown robe who was talking with a taller man with blue hair.

"Gramps?" he asked.

Gramps's eyes were wide as he chuckled nervously, "Laxus?"

"Erik?" Jellal asked, looking just as caught unawares as Gramps. Though he was bit more calm about the whole damn thing.

"Blueballs, da fuck?"

"Did you find Lucy?" Jellal asked, Laxus could hear a small bit of worry in his voice.

"What about Lucy?" Gramps asked, looking more worried as he pulled off the brown cape and stood there in his surf shorts, sandals and a loud AF pattern shirt. Laxus thought the guy was on vacation from the way he dressed.

"Yeah, she's being held in the main castle here," he said and Laxus noticed how his grandfather turned pale and started mumbling. Jellal hissed a few choice words as he clenched his fist.

"Gramps, explain, why are you here? What the hell happened with Fairy Tail?" Laxus said feeling his patience pretty much snap.

"Laxus my boy, the truth is I had to shut down Fairy Tail to go and investigate Alvarez. There is a rumor and I think it might be true," he said as he swallowed hard. To his credit Laxus had never seen Gramps this messed up before.

"Which is?" Cobra asked as he side stepped over closer to him and Laxus was grateful to have him by his side.

Jellal let out a breath, "we think Emperor Spriggan is actually Zeref Dragneel and he's conducting breeding experiments…"

Laxus ground his molars his head doing the math and this shit wasn't adding up. Cobra grabbed his hand and squeezed it, "that's why you sent me after Lucy?"

"Yes, when Makarov let me know about what he heard, I had to join him and see for myself."

"So right now, Lucy could be carrying that thing's kid or something?" Laxus asked, thoroughly pissed off about this whole thing. Why the hell couldn't Gramps let him know what was going on? Why was he kept in the dark?

"Worse, we think he's combining certain magic types with demons," Jellal added as he ran a hand through his hair.

"If that wasn't enough, the military is running more drills. Could be an invasion," Gramps let out as he kicked a small purple flower with his foot.

"Alright look, Freed went into town to go find an inn, we need food and rest. Let's meet up for dinner and Gramps," Laxus said as he put his glasses back on and readjusted his duffle bag, "no more fucking secrets. Now move your ass."

His grandfather looked up at him and grinned, "alright Laxus."

Laxus turned around and started heading towards the town, he wasn't really in the mood for chit chat. Not with that fucking bomb dropped on him. Also, he needed to calm down because right now he wanted to yell at Gramps for being the idiot that basically got her kidnapped. Had he fucking not shut down Fairy Tail, she'd still be with Natsu and not suffering at the hands of some demonic breeding program. Later, after a glass of scotch and a full belly, he'd let Gramps know just how badly he fucked this up.

As he looked out of the side of his eye, he noticed something unusual. Cobra was quiet and deep in thought. That was not a good thing.

* * *

"Rosebud…mmm… what?" Mard moaned as he felt light kisses pressed to his neck. This was unusual he had never been woken up by her in such a way. Usually she slept longer than him and often woke up a bit dazed.

Her tongue licked his neck before she playfully nipped at it, forcing his eyes open to figure out if he was dreaming. Mard encircled his arms around her shoulders and played with her golden hair. She moved and straddled his hips, the silk of her nightwear dancing over his bared torso.

She stopped teasing his neck and leaned up so he could look into her coffee colored eyes, she looked a bit mischievous. "Mard, I want you," she whispered with a faint splash of pink to her cheeks. He blinked several times at her words and bit his bottom lip when she rocked her core over his morning erection.

Mard cupped her face and his sensitive nose couldn't detect any of the aphrodisiac in the air. All he could scent was her, the strawberry and stardust scent she carried and the slightly headier scent of her arousal. "What brought this on?" he asked, trying to make sure she was alright. This was most peculiar and perhaps he was having just a wet dream. For all that is unholy he had them a scant few times since being here.

Rosebud kissed his lips gently, lightly licking them in a playful gesture before she giggled, "I'm tired of just dreaming," she moved again teasing his cock through the material of his grey boxers, "I want the reality."

"Ah, so you are horny. Interesting dreams then?"

She sat up a bit more and stared at him as if he had grown a second head. Her fingers trailed down his chest, little nails scrapping over his skin and teasing him. "Haven't you wondered yet? What it would feel like to make love without the drug?"

"Yes… But Rosebud, are you sure? This seems…" his voice trailed off as his own needs and desires started warring with his thinking mind. Yes, he wanted her and yes, he had handled his morning needs in the shower while thinking of her, but he never thought that she would reciprocate. That maybe she did want him, as much as he desired her.

"Like a dream?" she asked as she played with the bottom hem of the red silk and teasingly pulled it back to show off more of her creamy thighs.

"Yes," he said simply, not certain his brain could process multiple syllable words as she slowly lifted the material. His mouth was filling with saliva as she removed the garment and sat upon him in only red silk panties. She was so beautiful to look at, from the dusty pink nipples on full breasts, her tiny waist and stunning face.

"Mard, stop thinking, just love me."

"I cannot do that, I can give you my body but what is love?" he asked, feeling his desires wane a little, despite the beautiful treat on top of him.

She took his hand and placed it over her heart, he could feel it beat at a quicken pace under her soft skin. "Feel my heart?" he nodded, and she continued, "love comes from that."

"Rosebud a quickened pulse is an indication of excitement, this makes no sense," he replied as his fingers curled a little to feel more of her.

"Love is exciting, come on Mard, why are you so difficult?" she teased a little and he understood that right now her hormones were most likely at work here.

"Desire is not difficult, but you want more? I am making sure you are alright with this carnal act." Rosebud let go of his hand and he ran it down her body, enjoying the nuances of her curves.

"I want everything you can give," she said, "I think I can love you enough for both us."

He arched a brow, "that does not make…" she cut him off with a kiss. Her soft lips covering his as her little tongue teased at the seam and he parted his lips to give her what she wanted.

_Just stop thinking._

Their tongues moved in sync, exploring each other as his hands cupped her beautiful silk clad ass and kneaded the soft globes._ Rosebud be certain. It is a high crime for me to touch you without your consent._

_Since I'm initiating, I think I'm in the clear. I love you Mard, just let me show you._

She broke the kiss and started sliding down his body, leaving a small trail of kisses and small bites to his chest. Mard closed his eyes as her fingers curled under his boxers and started to slowly pull them down. He lifted his hips to let her remove them, she let out a soft moan as her small hands trailed up his legs.

Each touch of her lips or hands was soft but with purpose, much more methodical than the usual primal desires they had experienced. Her cheek brushed against his straining cock, as she was nuzzling it almost worshipfully. Mard's eyes rolled up behind closed lids as her tongue teased and tasted the slit drawing out his moisture. Rosebud let out a small breath and opened her mouth to slowly take him in. Her mouth was hot as her tongue pressed against his skin and she slowly moved.

This was heaven as each movement she came a little lower, coating him in her saliva. Her hand wrapped around the base and in concert she used both to excite him further. Mard moved his hips in time with her movements, his hands fisting the black sheets under him so that he wouldn't try to force her head lower on him. As he wanted to feel the tightness of her throat as she tried to take him all in, but this little torture was sweeter than that.

"Rosebud," he breathed before he let out a loud purr. If she kept at him with such intensity, he would soon orgasm. Her skills in oral were impressive as she swirled her tongue around the flared head before coming back down upon him was driving him towards that cliff.

As he felt the fire start to build and his balls began to tighten, she stopped, and he let out a breath. Mard opened his eyes and let go of the sheet, putting his hands on her shoulders and flipping them over. He kissed her, tasting a bit of himself on her tongue as he curled his fingers under her panties and simply yanked them apart. Rosebud moaned into mouth as he started teasing her dripping flesh with his fingers.

This was their first time without the aphrodisiac, and he wanted this seared into her mind for all eternity. Mard knew it would be a permanent mental image and a memory he would cherish. The feel of her, the scent of her desire and knowing that she was trying to express a complicated emotion through a base physical act had him thinking more on everything.

He started working down her body as he inserted two of his fingers into her channel to slowly stretch her and bring out more of her desire. Mard used his free hand to pinch one of her nipples as his mouth enveloped the other, his teeth scraping over the sensitive tip. Rosebud let out a wanton moan as she fluttered under his ministrations, it was erotic as anything he had ever felt. There was so much more to feel and enjoy without the drugs and every bit about her was leaving a mark on his soul.

"M-Mard… Mmmm... O-oh fuck…" she moaned as his fingers worked her, his thumb circling her clit as he added a third finger.

Mard let go of her nipple and quickly slid down the black sheets to taste her essence that was coating his fingers thoroughly. Her fingers ran through his messy plum locks as he licked her form entrance to clit. Rosebud pulled his hair as she let out another long moan as he moved his tongue over her sensitive pearl. His head was swimming in the taste of her, like licking Heaven.

He worked her thoroughly his tongue moving against her as his fingers sped up, determined to bring her to orgasm. Mard opened his mouth a little more to drawn in more of her as her legs tightened around his head and she pushed his head a little harder into her. Thinking that maybe she enjoyed a little pain with her pleasure, he pinched her pearl with his teeth and purred.

"Mard! Yes! Yes!" she screamed as her clit pulsed in his mouth and her tight channel began to milk his fingers. There was something beautiful about that, her coming apart for him and as beautiful as it felt around his fingers, he needed her, now.

Mard sat up on his heels for a moment to admire her as she withered against the black bedding. Her skin was mottled in small splashes of red as her eyes were glossed over in lust as she fought for breath. He brought his arms under her knees and curled his hands over the top of her thighs as he angled her towards his cock. The pain of his erection was getting worse as his desire roared inside his body.

He slowly entered her, feeling her struggle and quiver to accept him into her body and she grabbed at his hands. Their eyes met and as he filled her to the hilt, Mard leaned forward to kiss her, giving her a pause to adjust. He took his time with this kiss languidly enjoying her as her body relaxed under him.

As their tongues danced, she began to roll her hips up, he could sense her desire for him to move and he was relieved to oblige her needs. Mard started a lazy rhythm of long strokes, almost pulling completely out before sliding back in. His hands tightened around her thighs when she sucked on his tongue and her fingers sifted through his hair, little nails scrapping against his scalp.

_Faster, harder…_ she thought and that was all Mard needed to hear from her. It was exactly what he would have preferred.

He let go of the kiss to move her legs over his shoulders, rolling her up a little to feel her deeper. He pistoned into her, snapping his hips as hard as he dared but knowing she could handle him. A demon's desire was not a weak thing and if she could handle him when he was crazed for her, then surely, she could when not.

Her wet velvet heat fluttered around his cock as he moved and her legs twitched a little, her heels kicking against the moving muscles of his back. Rosebud was his mate and that little fact became more and more clear with every passing day. It also became clearer as he saw the mixture of emotions in her face as she looked at him.

"There! Oh f-fuck! Come on baby!" she called out and he almost chuckled to hear her screaming such things.

Mard mentally noted the angle and roughly thrust again, "there?" he asked, and her reply was a sharp cry of "yes!" He kept going at that angle making her loudly cry out a series of half words and basic gibberish as her shoulders pressed down and her lower back arched up. The angle was amazing and Mard bit his bottom lip as he was ready to release inside of her beautiful body.

Her body tightened suddenly as she screamed his name in her orgasm. His tempo faltered for a moment as she clenched and released around his cock. It was all he needed, "Rosebud!" he screamed as he slammed into her and spent his orgasm. The waves of euphoria danced along his skin as he moved in concert to the twitching of his dick with each stream of cum that came from him.

Mard was breathing hard, sweat coating his skin as he tried to pull himself back into reality with his beautiful little mate under him, equally as spent. He let go of her legs and kissed her gently to draw out this pleasured feeling and come down from the high of it.

_I love you, _she thought.

_I know._

"Did you just Han Solo me?" she teased and Mard was absolutely confused. He had no idea what that meant and who was this person? "Wait till we get out of here. I am so making you watch movies."

Mard kissed her cheek, "does it involve cuddling?"

"And popcorn." She smiled as her fingers trailed down his arm. It was such a sincere little moment and the way she looked at him had his own heart beating a little quicker. He wasn't exactly certain on what love was, but if it was anything like this moment of being joined with her, then perhaps somewhere inside himself Mard Geer was in love with his little Rosebud.

Her stomach let out a grumble, bringing him back into reality and he chuckled, "we should clean up and get you both fed."

"Princess is expecting waffles," she said.

"Which one?" he joked as he slid out of her heat and she pinched his side.

"You're technically a King, that makes me a Queen not a Princess," Rosebud replied. He froze as she said that, sure she meant it in jest, but he should probably explain to her the reality of the situation.

"Rosebud, you do realize that to be Queen of the Underworld you would have to be judged by the people, coronated, and live there. It is not just granted because I mated you," he said as he rose from the bed.

"Mard, do you always have to be so literal? I liked playful Mard, bring him back," she whined as he held out a pale hand for her.

She took his hand and got out of the rumpled black bed; a small wet spot left behind where his sperm was dripping out of her. Mard tapped her nose with his finger, "Rosebud, what you just said is a very serious thing. Least to me, what if we fail? Would you still want to be my Queen? Would you still…" he paused and swallowed hard as he considered her eyes, "love me?"

Her eyes darted away as she let out a breath, "how about we just assume that we win?" Hope, she was searching for hope and though Mard was usually a realist, he could do this for her. From what he could gather she was putting much of herself on display for him. Facets of her emotions and needs she never showed to another.

"Alright, we win and keep Spawnling, do you truly wish to be my Queen?" he asked.

She smiled at him and wrapped her thin arms around his waist, "I think I'd be an excellent Queen." Mard didn't doubt that for a second, she'd balance out his ruthlessness and emotionless rule. He bet she would be the kind of Queen that cared for her subjects and would be out amongst them. That would be a small nightmare, trying to keep her safe while she played with young demonlings and fed the weak and poor.

He made up his mind and dropped down to a knee, "then Rosebud, would you please be my Queen of the Underworld?"

A tear fell out of her eye as he kissed the back of her hand, "yes." Mard stood up and hugged her, spinning her around as he kissed her. Later he'd explain what it all meant but for right now, he was going to forget the current reality and enjoy the happiness he was feeling at his mate's acceptance.

* * *

Cobra drummed his fingers on the white linen table as Lightbulb read through the notes he was handed. Oh sure, he gets to know all the fucking things first and why the hell couldn't they talk out loud? It was something about this place being like a surveillance state. That's why Blueballs and Little Man were hanging out in the woods.

The wrinkled cream-colored slips of paper were passed to him and Cobra read through them quickly. It was a log of observations, comings and goings and some rumors noted in the margins. One thing that could never be said about Blueballs was that he wasn't fucking detailed oriented.

_Destroy those_, Little Man's voice entered his head and Cobra looked at him. He pointed a knobby finger to his temple and Cobra got the hint; holy shit Laxus's Gramps was telepathic.

_No rifling through my brain, you won't like it._

_Erik, no one is interested in your mental porn collection._ Blueballs came back with as Greenie covered his mouth and chuckled. He rolled his eye but also held his hand up for the high five, out of the usually serious dude that was pretty decent. Maybe he was rubbing off on him?

Lightbulb took the notes and in a quick flash, turned those things into ash and dumped them on his empty silver plate. The food here was much better than some of the wild game they ate on the way up and he finally got a few fucking vegetables. That's right kids, listen to Uncle Cobra and eat your greens.

_I've finished the Runes under the table, we have about thirty minutes of privacy. _Greenie said and Cobra could feel his brain itch as the telepathy dropped off.

"What did ya do?" Cobra asked.

"Zone of Privacy around the table, to anyone listening it will sound as if we are speaking a foreign language unless we are speaking directly to them." Greenie said as he took a sip of his white wine.

"Cool, alright so what's the plan?" Cobra said, actually staying on point for a change. This shit was about to get real and he'd be damned if Sunshine was forced to birth a demon baby. That was seriously fucked up as he saw the page about the anti-magic bedroom cell construction. Though it only mentioned one room, so this breeding program had to be tailored around Sunshine. Least as far as he could figure, which like she's hawt and stuff but for success shouldn't he have like more smexy mages or something?

"We have a contact inside the Palace, they will be giving us uniforms tomorrow morning and a schedule of guard changes," Blueballs said.

"And ya can trust this person? Could be a trap," he said as he grabbed his glass of bourbon and swirled it around watching the amber liquid move under the candlelight.

"You think everything is a trap," Blueballs said and Cobra shrugged.

"Our contact is my contact, she's the reason I'm here. I have no reason to not trust her," Gramps said and Laxus leaned forward putting his elbow on the table and resting his stubbly chin in his hand.

"Gramps, have you been getting your player on?" Laxus said and Cobra laughed.

Little Man blushed a little before hiding his face behind his frosty mug of ale. As he sat down his mug, he wiped his foamy and wet mustache with the back of his hand, "no, she's your grandmother's cousin, one of the Rune Knights best black ops spy. She called me when they wouldn't listen to her for help."

"Saw that blush, ya thought about banging female James Bond. Awesome," Cobra said as he flashed a cheesy grin and tipped his drink towards the old man.

"Erik, stop it, this is serious. When we get inside, Makarov and I will go look for invasion plans. You three have to find Lucy and save her."

"We understand Jellal, when I looked around the town earlier today it looked like they were getting ready for something tomorrow, is that correct?" Greenie added.

"It will be out best chance; they are having a parade tomorrow and the Emperor will be there to lead it. The castle will only have the minimum security and cleaning crew inside." Blueballs said, as he sipped a bit of his water. Cobra noticed that the guy only ate a few bits of his dinner and judging by his soul melody the news about Lucy was eating him up. Then again everything was that dude's fault, he could of ya know, just like let her love him or something.

Speaking of which, he really needed to go take his own advice and just mate. Tonight, tonight this shit was gonna happen because tomorrow they could like die, which would suck but he'd be damned if he was taken out with this big fucking regret hanging over his head.

"Tomorrow morning at sunrise, be at that clearing in the woods we met today. Don't be late," Little Man said as he looked over to the black iron minimalist clock on the wall. "We gotta go."

"Tomorrow then Gramps," Laxus stood up and shook Little Man's hand. Cobra knew that Laxus loved his Gramps and spent part of today cycling through his love of the man and being fucking pissed about what he did. Cobra kind of sort of maybe got it, like dude did it for the right reasons but still he should have told his family.

Everyone said their goodbyes as Greenie settled the bill with the resting bitch face waitress. Cobra walked beside Lightbulb as they headed for their room. Since he was a broke homey, he didn't mind sleeping on the floor or couch or whatever. Beat sleeping on the street or having to go walk for several miles to find a spot for a camp.

The inn wasn't like super ritzy or anything, it was pretty minimal in terms of style. It was something he noticed about this town in general, kind of like they run by the military. Only things he saw for art were propaganda posters, shop signs all looked the same and the good here were kind of standardized. Though their fashion was different, guys were all dressed in plain outfits and the chicks looked like they were competing for Miss Alvarez, swimsuit edition. Fucked up place if you asked him.

Lightbulb opened the door to the room and ushered Cobra inside. He checked out the place, it was a decent suite, clean hardwood floors, massive king-sized bed in white cotton and a couple brown cloth reading chairs near a short coffee table. The only other non-closet door was open, showing off a white and clean bathroom with a shower stall and a few fluffy towels.

Cobra took off his coat and draped it over one of the chairs as a pair of strong arms encircled his waist. Lightbulb's breath tickled his ear, "hey, how do you feel about mating tonight?"

He turned around and looked up into Laxus's blue grey eyes, "yeah, cause tomorrow if shit goes sideways I ain't dying with that regret."

"You won't die, not on my watch," he said as he placed a kiss to his forehead. Cobra could hear his soul music it was cycling through various melodies. Little worry, little fear, lotta love and all of it perfectly mirroring what he felt.

"Got one thing to discuss with you," he said as he pulled back from Lightbulb's massive arms. Cobra walked over to the bed and took a seat at the edge of it, patting the spot next to him. Lightbulb pulled off his combat boots and headed over, taking a seat next to him. He could still smell the scotch on his breath, a bit of his aftershave and the scent of storm that was unique to him. Could feel the electric vibe he gave off, even when not always using his magic. The large blonde was something to enjoy with all his senses.

"Alright, go for it," he said as he looked into his one good eye.

"I don't know your style, but I don't bottom," Cobra looked down and pursed his lips. He didn't want to have to finish that statement or explain anything else. His fucked-up hell hole past was his business and it was also the fucking past, he'd like it to stay there. Though some fucking scars just ran too deep.

Lightbulb squeezed his hand, "you're the first guy I've been with and you'll tell me about it one day."

Cobra tilted his head, "seriously?"

"Yeah only one I've ever been interested in, got bored of women a few years ago. Right after I first met you," he admitted, and Cobra felt his heart do it's little tap-dancing routine in his chest.

"Well I am a fine piece of awesome," he joked, and Lightbulb shook his head.

"When you're not self-aware of that fact."

"Dude, already throwing shade. I see how this relationship is gonna go. Keep this up and I'll leave you barefoot making sandwiches in the kitchen," Cobra retorted as he leaned a little closer to his mate. He wanted this distance to end. Finish what they started and what every fiber in his being was screaming for.

"You'd like to think so, but we both know I'd take you in a fair fight," Lightbulb said as his lips brushed against his.

"Fair ain't a real word," Cobra whispered as he grabbed a fistful of blonde hair and slammed his mouth over his. Lightbulb's body stiffened for a moment before he relaxed into the kiss, sure it was a cheap shot, but there wasn't any other kind in Cobra's playbook.

Hands roamed all over each other as the kiss spiraled into one of pure hunger and need driving his instincts wild. They pulled back and both threw off their shirts, not that Cobra could afford to keep replacing his snarky t-shirts. Not that he actually paid for them in the first place but that was beside the point.

Lightbulb was a treat for the eyes with his chiseled features, kiss swollen lips and messy blonde hair. They resumed their make out session on the edge of the bed, hands exploring bared torsos. Cobra slid a little closer as his waist was grabbed and he found himself straddling some very powerful thighs.

He pulled back from the kiss and bit lightly along Lightbulb's jaw before running his teeth down the column of his thick throat. That hum of electricity around the lightning slayer strengthened as large hands grabbed his ass and pulled him close. Cobra could feel the large erection straining inside navy jeans between his legs, rubbing against his own.

Cobra bit his collarbone as Light… well maybe he should call his mate by his name. Seemed like if anyone ever deserved to have their name used it would be him. Then again what kind of fun was that? Lightbulb totally worked for the dude. Lightbulb bit his shoulder, causing the naming debate to exit his mind faster than a demon at an exorcist convention.

He pushed Lightbulb back on the bed as he got off him and looked around, "got lube?" Since dude was an ass virgin he'd better make this a hell of a lot better than his first time. Lightbulb went over to his utility bag and fished around, Cobra took the opportunity to find a towel and take off his pants. Cause you know, he can be polite.

For a big masculine guy who has fucked like half the chicks in Fiore, Lightbulb looked a little embarrassed as he put the large white towel on the center of the bed. "Easier clean up," Cobra said as he was tossed a small clear bottle with a blue and purple label. Damn this was the good stuff, even had a small bit of a pain reliever in it, not cheap. Then again everything around the blonde was pricey, he had Jewel for days.

He stepped out of his navy jeans and came over to the bed, they looked at each other for a moment before another sensual kiss. Cobra tossed the bottle on the bed as he hooked his fingers into the waistband of Lightbulb's blue boxer briefs and slowly pushed them down. He stopped the kiss to follow his hands, coming to his knees before his mate and saying hello to one stupidly thick erection. Oh damn.

Cobra extended his tongue, giving the slit a playful flick before curling one of his calloused hands around the base. Lightbulb put a hand on his head, sifting through his wild hair as the poison slayer opened his mouth to take him in. The bit of precum on his cock was salty, heady, with a bit of citrus, pineapple maybe?

He worked his lover, enjoying the soft moans that spilled from his lips as he managed to hit the back of his throat, over and over again. Those fingers in his hair started pulling as Cobra used his other hand to massage and play with his balls.

"F-fuck… damn…" he moaned as Cobra could sense that he right there, ready to cream all down his throat. Being the epic jerk, he was, he pulled back, releasing that glorious tasting cock with a smile as Lightbulb let out a harsh breath.

"Not yet, pookey, on the bed," he said, his voice thickening with lust as he watched his mate climb on the bed. He laid back, one hand behind his head as the other wrapped around his wet dick.

"We gotta talk about these nicknames," he said as Cobra slid off his thin boxers with little cartoon snakes all over them. He got on the bed and settled between the tree trunk like legs before grabbing the little bottle he tossed to the side.

"I've got a million of them," he said as he popped the top and started pouring some of the thick gel over two of his fingers.

"You ever call me Pikachu and I will fry your ass," he teased, and Cobra grinned at him.

"Oh, don't worry, you'll be screaming Pika Pika soon enough," he shot back as he slid his hand under Lightbulb's firm ass, "now you need to relax and tilt your hips up a little. Kind of like taking a shit but fucking don't do that!"

"Alright," he said as he closed his eyes and slowly stroked his cock. Damn his mate was pretty, all laid out on the bed like a feast of glorious beefcake.

As he pressed his index finger against the puckered ring, Lightbulb tensed. "Ease up, relax," he said softly, trying to get the large man to settle down.

It took a while of patience and reminders for him to relax before Cobra got his index finger up to the knuckle. He kept pumping his finger in and out as he watched Lightbulb bite his bottom lip and whiter under him. There was something sexy about this, seeing the S-Class mage lost to the slow pleasure that was building.

He wanted this to go faster as his own dick was starting to hurt from needing to shoot off a good one but pain was also kind of sexy too. Cobra felt him relax a bit more and applied more lube to his fingers before adding in the second. The thrusts were shallow and slow, trying to stretch him without hurting him. So far so good.

"How's that?" Cobra asked as his fingers were sliding in much easier.

"Damn," he whispered.

Cobra grinned at him before pulling his fingers out and generously applying the lube to his cock. Holy shit this lube had left two of his fingers kind of tingly, it was some neat stuff. He angled himself at Lightbulb's entrance and slowly began to push in.

The blonde slayer's eyes opened up and Cobra paused for a moment before leaning down and kissing his mate. He had a special little poison for this, curare, in small doses it was a muscle relaxant and in larger ones, well ya get the hint. Cobra slipped a little of it into his saliva as they kissed and felt Lightbulb practically melt under him. That was the reaction he wanted, and it made sliding all the way in easier.

"Alright?" he asked around Lightbulb's lips.

"Hell yeah, relaxed as fuck," he said, his words a little slurred. Ooops maybe too much.

"Not for much longer," Cobra teased as he sat up and began a slow pace.

The heat and tightness of Lightbulb's body was unreal, and that spark of electricity was getting stronger with every movement. He wrapped a hand around his cock and stroked him in time with his hips, his strokes getting faster and shorter in his excitement.

Lightbulb's back arched as Cobra hit the prostate, and the loud wanton moan form the man's mouth had him drooling. Cobra increased his pace letting all the pent-up lust compel his hips to move faster and a little harder, hitting the same spot that had Lightbulb a mess under him. The magic in the air was getting thicker as they raced towards orgasm, fangs grew sharp in his mouth as he felt the need to bite his mate.

Green and purple sparks floated around him as small arcs of electricity danced all over pale skin. Cobra didn't think too much and bit the junction where neck and shoulder meet. Lightbulb screamed his name as his cock pulsed between their bodies and his seed splashed all over. His ass tightened violently as he came and that sent Cobra over the edge as his whole world blew apart and he tasted the blood of his mate.

For a while no one moved, the only sound was their heavy breathing as the magic did its thing. Taking two souls and margining them into one. From now on, Cobra would never be alone again and that was pretty awesome.

* * *

_and that was a lot of smut LOL_

_Please comment, kudo and bookmark! Thank you so much to everyone who has thus far._

_Little fun fact, as a fanfiction author the only kind of "payment" we receive for the hours of work is just that simple bit of joy we get a ocmment, kudo and bookmark. So that's why we ask for it. So be kind to your hard working writers :)_

_Up Next - Dr. StrangeCobra or How I Really Fucked this Plan Up._


	8. Dr. StrangeCobra or How I Really Fucked This Plan Up

Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail

* * *

"I see you've added a few people Maki Roll," the silver haired woman said with a smile on her hawkish face. Cobra grinned at her, loving the little nickname and wishing he thought of it.

It was fucking early in the morning and he was damn tired, having gone a few extra rounds with his mate last night. Lack of sleep was totally worth it, also judging by the look of exhaustion and contentment on Lightbulb's face. Yet they had a Sunshine to go rescue and could nap later.

Now they were back in the little wildflower clearing a few miles outside of town, standing around and talking with a lady who may be old but really didn't look like it. Total spitfire kind of chick and from what he could gather from her, she knew her shit. He kind of wanted her autograph, having never met a real life super magical spy of doom.

Little Man turned red for a moment before he sputtered, "h-hey now, not in front of the grandkid."

"The big one with the cute caramel boytoy?" she asked.

"I ain't a boytoy, reverse that," Cobra shot back as he looked up and saw Lightbulb glaring at him over those sunglasses. He gave him a cheesy smile and shrugged, knowing damn well he'd probably be thunderstruck later.

"Erik, please, we have to get this plan solidified. I apologize for this, please continue Ionia," Blueballs said as he started unpacking the large military green duffle bag, she brought with her. He started laying out the various uniforms on the grass and Cobra felt his heart jump in excitement. This was gonna fucking happen, they were gonna rescue Sunshine.

"Parade starts at 10, the castle will be cleared out about half an hour before that. That will be your best time to slip in the castle, during the chaos," she pulled out a small silver dagger and started tracing in the air. A small stream of silver followed her movements and suddenly there was a massive architectural map of the castle floating in the air. Cobra thought that shit was kind of cool, some kind of art power.

Ionia tapped her finger to a corridor, and it highlighted in green, again really cool shit. "This is your access corridor. Servants have their own system, Spriggan doesn't like them moving around freely around the castle, so a system of hidden paths was built into the Palace. From here you want to remember this pattern, 3R, 6L, 3D, 8L." She traced through the castle, making a little line of green footsteps. It kind of made sense, right turn, left turn, down the stairs and left with the numbers being which doorway to go through.

"That seems rather an indirect path," Greenie pointed out.

"On purpose, surveillance and remember a few guards will still be there. You have better success on this path for a covert mission." Iona said.

Lightbulb snorted, "covert with this guy," he pointed at Cobra who just batted his eye all innocent and sweet like.

"I've seen worse," she said with a shrug before waving her hand and clearing away the map.

"We don't have a lot of time, let's get changed and ready. Thank you Ionia," Lightbulb said, being all respectful. He moved over to her and shook her hand, she smiled at him and made a nice compliment about his how he had the same eye color as his grandmother. Which seriously Cobra couldn't picture Little Man having a wife or something but who knows maybe he was a stud when he wasn't a hundred years old.

"Yes, thank you," Greenie said as he also went to shake her hand.

"Is that?" she said as she grabbed his slim wrist and yanked, causing Greenie to stumble forward. Cobra watched as the woman stared at his tattoo, then him, back to the tattoo and then dropped to a knee. "It is an honor of the War Dancers to meet you."

"Ugh! Freed now, explain what the hell," Lightbulb growled as Cobra exchanged a what the fuck look with Blueballs who was handing him the costumes. Didn't look like much, black pants and white shirts, but he noticed the hand stitched silver crest on right shoulder. He'd seen that mark before, all over the propaganda posters around town. Damn this shit was legit.

"That is the sigil of Merlin, she has blessed him as hers. To my people it's a very sacred thing," Cobra noticed how Greenie was turning redder by the second as Ionia spoke. "Did she kiss you? What was she like?"

Greenie pulled back and looked up at Lightbulb before he pursed his lips and ran a hand through his emerald hair. "Merlin was unique and not what I expected. Yes, she kissed me and soon I have to repay her for her magical blessing with a date. I am supposed to use this to summon her when it's done. There, is everyone happy?"

Lightbulb chuckled, "Freed we already knew the date thing," he and Cobra both pointed to their ears as Greenie let out a short breath.

"I just didn't want to make it a big deal," he said as Ionia's grey eyes went wide and her jaw fell open.

"It is a big deal!" she yelled as Greenie took a step back.

"Ionia, leave one of my brats alone," Little Man said as he stepped between the super spy and a very red on red with green hair Greenie. Blueballs handed him his uniform and he spun on a heel and walked toward the woods to go change.

"If he wasn't on track to be a God in his own right, I would," she said before waving her hand in the air dismissively, "but we should continue."

"Wait, hold up," Lightbulb said, "what do you mean?" Cobra could see the tick in his strong jaw as his molars mashed together. When he got like this, even as his mate Cobra knew to take two steps back.

"The ability to directly summon the Living Goddess is only granted to the person she intends to take as her Fated One. I'm sorry but as soon as he summons her, you should just say goodbye to him." Ionia replied softly.

Lightbulb turned away from her and grabbed Cobra by the bicep, dragging him away. "Thanks! Tip your waitress!"

He pulled him into the thick woods and removed his glasses, Cobra could see the spark of lightning around his eyes. Lightbulb clenched his white jacket's lapel and pulled him close, "whatever the fuck happens, we don't let Freed fucking summon her."

Cobra shook his head, "but dude…"

"No buts! He's my best friend and I'll be damned if he gets kidnapped or transformed or anything. Got it?"

Cobra put his hand over Lightbulb's, "he's a big boy, ties his own shoes and everything. Think if someone told you, you weren't allowed to talk to me," Lightbulb let go of his jacket and ran that hand through his hair.

"You're right," he said, and Cobra gave him a quick kiss.

"Duh, now let's go save Sunshine." Lightbulb let out a breath and stepped back as Cobra handed him one of the uniforms. They changed quickly, with Lightbulb's being just a bit tight around his chest and neck, he looked uncomfortable. Cobra's fit just fine, little loose around the waist but heh, not everyone can be a damn nice 32.

Greenie came over to them in the same uniform and wouldn't ya fucking know it, his fit perfectly. "put everything in a pile," he said, and they did, cause why not? After a few movements of his wrist and a small purple circle of power, all their clothes were gone.

"Fuck, left my smokes in the jacket," Cobra grumbled.

"Everything is back at the inn," Greenie said as his lips pursed, "look, Laxus…"

"Did you know?" he asked, his voice rough.

Greenie shook his head, "not at first, one of the Mind Scions explained it to me. I know the risks and am fine with it, since she is the reason why we are here and, on our way, to saving Lucy."

Lightbulb put a big hand on one of his shoulders, "I get it. It's fine and who knows," he looked over at Cobra and smiled, "maybe it'll work out for you."

Greenie swiped his bangs over and nodded, "thank you Laxus."

Lightbulb nodded, "alright let's teleport a little closer to the city. Time is ticking." Cobra was on board for that plan and the trio stepped out into the clearing again. The first thing he noticed was that everyone else was gone, they must have taken longer in the woods than he thought, but meh.

Greenie and he each took one of Lightbulb's hands and the big dude handled the rest. His form of teleportation was literally like being hit by lightning and then you're like flying through a tube at sixty billion miles per hour. It was fucked up and when they came out of it, Cobra could smell a few bits of singed hair.

They were maybe half a mile from the city, which wasn't bad, hell of a lot shorter than 5 miles. The sun was beating down on them as they walked on the main cream-colored rock gravel road. Cobra wished for sunglasses and kept his hand up to shield his one good eye. As they approached the town it was a buzz in excitement for this big parade. People were finding spots in the shade to sit with their families and food vendors were selling something that smelt damn tasty.

The trio took the side streets, trying to avoid the crowds and the soldiers. The castle wasn't hard to find, biggest fucking structure here. Cobra bet that said something about the size of the Emperor's dick. Compensation is the word of the day.

They walked around the white stone wall around it, looking for the servant's entrance. As they walked, they saw a group of other servants and mixed in with the group. The group stopped in front of the portcullis made of black iron bars as one of them called out for Dan to open the gate. A ginger headed black dressed solider looked over the ramparts and gave the all clear for them to enter. So far, so good.

One thing Cobra did notice was the fact that much of this city was literally in black and white. Accents of colors were here and there but for the most part it was like walking around a giant yin yang thing. Cobra was expecting like some kind massive opulent place with fine rugs and paintings worth more than his kidneys, but nope. Minimal AF.

Greenie pointed to the left and they followed him, splintering from the main group who were all chatting about work. For the most part they seemed like hard working good peeps, just making a life. Though Cobra could hear a bit of weariness in their voices, it was faint, like they knew they were always being watched. Not cool man.

They entered a thin dark hallway, black stone with random wall sconces casting just a bit of light. As they walked in single file, Cobra was counting the doors, they were spaced out a little further than he the map looked but it was alright. Long as someone paid attention to whatever the fucking directions were.

As they got to the lower level something didn't sit right with Cobra. This shit felt too easy. "Hey, does this shit seem right to you?"

Lightbulb stopped and looked back at him, "just keep your guard up. Like Ionia said this is the servant's area."

"Yeah but like shouldn't they be watching us or have checkpoints or something?" Cobra asked. He'd robbed enough mansions with nifty escape tunnels and passages to know that people could set up cameras and shit here.

Lightbulb shrugged, "no clue but good point." They pressed on and as they rounded the corner to the final hallway, which looked the same as the last few, all hell broke loose. Sirens went off, sconces flickered, and a voice came out of the walls shouting "intruders!"

"Fuck, move it," Lightbulb yelled as they picked up speed.

* * *

Zeref was standing on the two tiered black and white with trimmings in gold massive float designed for him. He was in his formal black military attire with white and gold accents that glinted in the sun for the event to be out amongst his people. Had this not been an annual tradition of Alvarez, he would have declined to stay closer to the most important person in his life. The child in Lucy's womb.

He waved to the crowd as they all chanted his assumed name, his guards on the float throwing out trinkets, candy, and coins to the people. The parade stopped so the soldiers could display their drills for the crowd, showing their precision in movements. The marching band picked up their tempo as a few of the soldiers had a little fun with the scantily clad women in the crowd. This day was a party and a reminder of his power.

At the end of the parade route he would address his subjects, letting them know that soon the glory of Alvarez would be spread throughout Ishgar. He would rally the crowd to celebrate his excellence and give their enthusiastic blessing to go forward and conquer in glory to them. Morale was always a large factor in any war, if the troops marched on with the best wishes and hopes of their families and friends, they would fight more. If these simple peasants believed in him with all their being, any one of them would die for his cause.

Zeref waved at the cheering crowd, drinking in the chants of his name. The more they loved him, the longer his legacy would continue, even after he finally succeeded in dying. His Empire would last for thousands of years, still telling the tales of glory and crafting new statues in tribute to him. All he had to do was show his love and his might in equal measure.

As he leaned over to take a handful of treats, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as a buzzing sound went off in his mind. Zeref closed his eyes and picked on the feeling, the magical tripwire before the special prison cell had gone off. He removed his helmet and not caring, teleported off the platform and into the thin hallway.

Ahead of him he a man with long green hair, bangs covering one of his eyes. He wore one of the Spriggan uniforms but was not one of his, he held up a hand, "who are you?"

"Just a servant," he said and Zeref raised a brow. The man did not know who he was, all subjects knew to kneel.

"Freed get down!" the towering blonder behind shouted and as the slight man dropped Zeref was hit with a lightning bolt to the chest. He flew down the hallway, smelling burnt fabric and feeling the crack in his sternum from the impact.

Zeref heled out his hands, digging them into the walls to stop his movements, the stone giving way and breaking his nails. He landed on his feet and charged forward as another blast hit the outer wall to the cell.

* * *

To Lucy it was just another day in the cell with Mard, the only difference was that yesterday they finally made love on their own. The feeling was out of this world and though he couldn't say it, she could see his feelings for her behind his eyes. The way he touched her, kissed her and everything let her know that even if he's confused, Mard knew what he felt for them.

She looked over at the plush couch, where Mard was sipping his coffee and casually reading one of the baby books. He was in the usual clothing, black robe and black satin sleep pants, not that Lucy was going to complain about seeing him bare chested all the time. Mard looked over the edge of his book and arched a brow, "what?"

"Just thinking of how cute you are," she said.

"Ah, flattery gets you laid Rosebud," he teased, which made Lucy giggle. Though with Mard he could have been completely serious.

She was going to have to sort this out, "oh does it? So, if I tell you that you have the most exquisite tongue…"

Mard set the book down and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, "you would not be wrong, continue and let us see how many praises you can give me before I make you scream my name."

Lucy felt the smile spread across her face, "challenge accepted." She got out of her comfortable reading chair and walked over to him. Mard sat back and she took the invitation to straddle his lap.

"The proximity helps," he said as his hands rested at her waist. Lucy shifted a little in his lap, feeling his dick start to harden under her core.

"Hmm, it certainly does. Let's talk about your amazing body," she said as she slipped her hands inside his robe and ran her palms over his pecs.

Mard pulled at the loose tie of her own black robe, "your form is more pleasing, lush, full, supple," he licked his bottom lip, "delectable."

Lucy shivered and put her finger to his lips which he kissed, "this isn't about me, my King." His eyes widened a bit and she felt him twitch slightly. _Bingo_, she thought.

"True, I believe we were seeing how many times you can flatter me before you get laid," he said as he opened her robe and leaned a little closer to her, his lips a hair's breadth away from her neck.

"What can I say, my King," he pressed a kiss to her delicate skin, "is a sensual treat." Mard licked a small spot before he grazed it with his teeth, Lucy rocked her hips a little over him. "Oh, and his mind, beyond sexy," she whispered as he laid a few open mouth kisses towards her jawline. "Then my King…"

Mard curled a hand behind the back of her head and brought her lips to his. Lucy held on to his shoulders as their lips moved and tongues danced alongside each other. She felt him stand up and wrapped her legs around his waist as he moved across the room towards the bed.

_That didn't take long_, she thought.

_When you have such skill_, he replied as he laid her out on the bed. Lucy was mentally giggling in her little glee from his kiss. He settled between her legs as their fingers entwined above her head as he looked into her eyes.

Mard lowered his head again when the room shook, they froze and Mard untangled himself from her. He grabbed her and dropped them to the floor as the wall exploded inward, debris and dust scattering everywhere. Lucy heard him groan as cement chunks pelted his body that he was using to shield her and keep them safe.

"Yo Sunshine!" she knew that voice.

"Cobra?" she said as she tried to get up, Mard was keeping her held down. "Mard get off me, these are friends. I think we are getting rescued." He rolled off her and got up, helping her to her feet. She saw Cobra walking through the large hole in the wall.

"See you're such a Princess, can't even get a cheap prison cell," he teased as Lucy ran to go hug the poison slayer. "We gotta go some dude in pretty clothes showed up," he said, and Lucy nodded.

"Mard come on!" she yelled as Cobra pulled her up on the bed to get out. Lucy looked ahead and saw Laxus go flying down the hall with Freed on top of him. Cobra let go of her hand and summoned his magic, releasing something in the air and Lucy quickly covered her nose and mouth. Mard was beside her in a second as he scrunched his nose. _He's a poison user_.

Lucy could barely see through the haze of Cobra's power but heard him scream when someone hit him. Mard pulled her back as Zeref walked in, he growled and before her eyes she watched the once handsome man turn into something straight out of her nightmares.

The only thing that reminded the creature next to her of Mard was his trademark hair. He was taller with every bit of muscle covered in black skin and massive bat wings off his back. His face had changed, more sinister and crueler with too many teeth. To Lucy she felt she was finagling seeing him for what he was, and she swallowed hard as she took timid steps away.

_Rosebud, it's still me, but go hide._ He said to her and she could hear the concern in his voice. Lucy turned to run as he let out a violent growl that shook the room. Bits of the ceiling fell around her as she heard the sickening crunch of a body go through stone.

She got into the small bathroom as Cobra shouted for her and she peeked around the doorway to see him looking an absolute mess. His shirt was torn, small scrapes were bleeding down his arm, and dust clung to his maroon hair. Lucy came out when a chime hit the air and she was pulled into a warm hug.

"Princess!" Loke yelled and Lucy smiled as she hugged her beloved spirit.

"Loke, oh my god! W-we have to…" she started.

"Get you out of here, we couldn't find you. I've been scared out of my mind." Loke replied as he adjusted his blue tinted glasses.

"Yo! Come on, we gotta go before that freakshow comes back!" Cobra shouted as Loke stepped in front of Lucy with his arm out to protect her.

"I remember you," he said and Lucy took his hand.

"He's a friend, remember, we don't hold grudges," she said as a scream and more sounds of walls breaking apart hit her eardrums.

Freed stepped into the room, breathing hard and looking more disheveled than she had ever seen the mage. "Hurry, that demon has the other man distracted with vines and rose petals."

"Rose petals?" Loke asked and Lucy saw a tick in his jaw, "that bastard! We have to end him." Lucy knew they were discussing Mard, his powers revolved around roses.

"N-no!" she shouted as she tried to grab for Loke. The lion spirit was already through the hole in the wall and she dumped the robe, not giving a shit as Cobra whistled and she went to follow her spirit. Lucy called for her Leo Stardress, surprised a bit it still worked without the key to draw from but with Loke the rules were always a bit different.

As she got into the destroyed hallway strong arms wrapped around her and she struggled against the hold. "Chill Blondie, we gotta go," Laxus said and Lucy turned around and looked up at the poor guy who was going to have one hell of a shiner.

"B-but, Mard! I can't leave without him," she protested as the her three would be saviors stared at her.

"Heh, Sunshine, think your brain is scrambled. Demons bad," Cobra said as a very large demon went flying right into the group. Lucy barely had time to get out of the way, tucking into a roll to not hurt her little girl.

_Mard!_

_Rosebud, run! You and Spawnling are more important, just run._ He said as he got off a disoriented Freed who was under his massive form.

_We leave together_, she said and was promptly ignored as Mard tossed Cobra to the side. _No! He's my friend._ Mard ignored her as he grabbed her and cradled her into his chest. _My friends!_

_Not now Rosebud, I am taking you out of here._ They barely got into the sunlight when Mard stumbled forward and crashed to a knee. She looked over his shoulder and saw Laxus standing there, lightning sparking from his hands.

Loke ran up behind them and her eyes went wide as he shouted, "Regulus Punch!" and hit Mard behind the head.

Her demon growled and his grip on her faltered, sending her rolling into the ground. Mard said something in _Infernai_ as he slammed his fist into the ground and suddenly massive green and thorn vines came out of the ground, attacking everyone behind them.

"Mard! Stop!" she said as she coughed from the dust, she managed to take in. Lucy was on her knees with one hand to her stomach and a hand over her mouth as she went through the coughing fit. Everything looked blurry, only able to see shapes attack each other. She tried to scream, tell them to stop but she couldn't.

A hand grabbed her head, yanking on her hair and forcing her to her feet. "I feel as if I owe a bit of gratitude to your idiot friends," Zeref whispered in her ear. Lucy felt all color drain out of her face as he laughed and suddenly, she was gone.

* * *

Mard readied for the holy attack out of the Lion Spirit when suddenly he vanished. He knew that could not be good, if the spirit disappeared then his keyholder…

"Rosebud!" he screamed as something jumped on his back, sending him back to his knees as a bolt of pure electricity ran through his hurting body. Mard tried to bite back the pain but it was too much for him and he fell forward as his Etherious form dissipated.

After months of no Curse abilities, he had certainly gotten weaker and his inability to handle the situation was proof of that. He rolled over to his back and kicked up, rising to his feet and taking in the area. His vines were slowly vanishing as he clenched his side and felt the sharp burning pain from when Zeref hit him at full force. The three men who dared to attack him all looked to be in just as bad shape, judging by the dirt and blood.

He watched them and readied to strike out at them when before his very eyes his only friend appeared before him. She was dressed in a black corset and emerald green bustle skirt, much more formal than he was used to seeing her. Mard would guess that she must have been at her adopted home, Mechanis, when she showed up. Which was odd and he was curious as to why she was here and how did she know? "Mard! What in the bloody hell?" Merlin asked as she grabbed him and pulled him into a hug.

Mard broke the affectionate display and spun around looking for his mate, "R-Rosebud, have you seen my mate? Blonde hair, coffee colored eyes, stunning?"

Merlin looked confused, "I just got here, ya need to explain it ta me." Mard roared in his frustration, his Rosebud and Spawnling were gone. His fear of losing them had come true and all because of these would-be friends of hers. Oh, he was going to have a long conversation with her about the company she chooses.

"Merlin, you know him?" a male voice asked and Mard saw a slight pale man with messy emerald hair walk up to her.

"Aye, 'tis muh best friend, Underworld King Mard Geer Tartaros. Why would ya attack him?" she asked and Mard wanted to understand that.

Another man with a deeper skin tone, who was holding up the large blonde brute, came over to them. "Dude, he's kind of a dick and forced himself on our Sunshine."

Mard gnashed his teeth together and wanted to strike out at the lying simpleton. Merlin put her sigil marked hand up against his bare chest and winked at him. "Oi, I ain't havin' none of that talk. Now how about a good cuppa in the Underworld?"

The trio looked confused and Mard rolled his eyes, only she would demand teatime when his whole world was falling apart. "Merlin, this is serious, we have no…" she glared at him, her pale eyes swirling in more redder tones. Some people wore their emotions on their sleeves, as the saying goes, hers were always reflected in her eyes.

He gave her a nod and she grinned at him before a flash of golden magic flared up from the ground and he promptly fell through the dusty Earth under his bare feet. The trio started screaming as Mard just handled it, knowing that this would be over in a few seconds.

It was jarring to land as his feet hit the cobblestone pathway of his inner courtyard and garden. Mard looked around, seeing servants drop to their knees and his large flesh-eating roses, Velvet and Alba started flailing their leaves in their happy dance. He also noticed that he was now properly dressed in a three-piece black suit, accented in silver buttons and swirls along the large cuffs. Least she had healed and cleaned him up on the way down and judging by the others, she had done the same for them.

"What the shit?" the maroon-haired one said as he examined his white jacket and rummaged through the pockets, pulling out a blue and white box.

"This is my castle in the Underworld," he said as he started sending off telepathic commands for coffee and tea service to be brought to the courtyard. Mard motioned towards the cast iron and glass table and chairs, "have a seat."

"We don't have time for this! Lucy is missing!" the blonde one said.

"You have two options, play by Merlin's rules and get help or do not. I can assure you leaving the Underworld without the ability to traverse Planes is a long process. We can take time for tea or coffee," he said trying to keep his emotions in check. He did not want these simpletons to fully understand that right now inside his mind he was screaming and deathly afraid.

Everyone settled around the table as a couple small thin purple skinned imps pushed the white cloth cart towards them. They quickly unloaded the goods on it, placing pastries in the center of the table, the coffee service next to him and the tea set by Merlin. Once everyone was served, Mard took a sip of his coffee and looked over at Merlin who was nibbling a scone.

"Alright Mard, explain," she said around a bite. He noticed she was looking the emerald-haired man up and down, a glance that showed her interest in him.

"Several months ago, I and Rosebud, or Lucy Heartfilia as you might call her, were locked together in a cell. The goal was to have the two of us create a child for Zeref to sacrifice," he said. The three men all whispered and shot him looks of disbelief and shock. Merlin was oddly quiet, but Mard knew once he finished, she'd be her usual self again.

"He believes that a child created by a particular star aligned Celestial Mage and a demon of my caliber will break his Curse of Contradictions with its virginal heart blood," he continued.

"Fuck, that's sick," the one-eyed mage said as he popped a small creampuff into his mouth.

"We were given a powerful aphrodisiac and forced to copulate. She is now carrying my child," he said as he thought of her. Mard debated how much he should tell them beyond this point.

"Mard, ya said mate," Merlin added as she sipped her tea.

"During one of our drugged induced hazes, I mated her. Recently I have formally asked her to be my Queen and she accepted," Mard swallowed as he could hear her voice whispering to him. "s-she loves me and our baby."

He started seeing memories of her, little moments of her smile or laugh. His heartbeat picked up as he thought of when he felt her heart the only time, they had a chance to have sex without the drugs. Mard put his hand to his own chest, feeling his heartbeat in time to the memory. The way she looked at him, called his name and held on to him as if she'd be lost without him beside her. How incomplete his life was starting to feel being so far away from her. How small he felt for not protecting her.

His coffee cup dropped on the table and split the beautiful elixir everywhere as he put his head in his hands and began to cry. Mard got it, he understood love and he was very much in love with his mate and child. He understood just how much he needed them to make him whole. How much he enjoyed being with her, talking, laughing or even holding her. His life was better with her in it, he was better with her beside him. It was more than desire; he would die for her and he would live for her.

A warm arm wrapped around his shoulders and he turned to cry into the embrace of his best friend. Merlin pushed his hair back and rubbed small circles on his back as Mard forgot his composure and let all his emotions out.

"I-I love her Merlin," he sobbed.

"Which is why I'm gonna help, we'll save your family, right gents?" she said and to Mard's surprise he heard the men all agree with Merlin. He collected himself and pulled back, grabbing his napkin and patting the tears from his face.

"Apologies," he said.

"I'm Laxus, this is my mate Cobra, and that's Freed," the blonde one said, "look sorry for the confusion. I know if it was my mate, I'd go ballistic too." Cobra grabbed Laxus's hand and placed a kiss to his knuckles.

"Though we ain't got to worry about the baby thing, but yeah, we get it. Sorry my man," Cobra said with a grin on his face.

"I am a demon, not a man and certainly not yours," Mard replied which had made Cobra throw his head back and laugh. He was most confused.

"He has a way with slang, your Majesty," Freed said and Mard was certainly impressed with his manner and clarity of speech. "Though, now that we have become acquainted with each other and apprised of the situation, we need to make a plan."

"Find Sunshine, kill Zeref, have a baby shower," Cobra said as he took several more creampuffs. Mard telepathically ordered a refill of the treats from the kitchen.

"If only it truly was that simple, though Merlin how much assistance are you willing to give?" he asked.

"All that I can, be damned if that cunt gets ta kill muh goddess child. Also Freed owes me a date," she said as she blew a kiss at the mage who was now turning red.

Mard pinched the bridge of his nose and chuckled, "so you are only here for a date?"

"Aye, waited a long time for that one."

Mard looked at her, "well no matter the reason, thank you Merlin."

"Dun thank me yet, ya still have enough work to do, now, gents, a plan." She said with a smile on her face and Mard knew that for once Zeref would not have a clue as to what was going to hit him. He only hoped his child and Rosebud were safe.

* * *

Zeref appeared with Lucy inside of the secondary cell he had constructed. If anything, his long life had taught him was to always have contingency plans. This secondary base was along the edge of his empire, overlooking the sea. It was designed to look like a non-descript cabin from above the ground, but the cell and his personal bedroom were underground. All he had to do was survive with her for a few more months and then this would be over.

She squirmed in his grip as her clothing changed from the beautiful black dress into a revealing pink silk slip. Zeref let her go and she promptly smacked him, the defiance in her eyes setting them practically on fire. He rubbed his cheek, "I would watch yourself Miss Heartfilia."

"Fuck you," she growled.

Zeref stepped towards her and wrapped his hands around her shoulders, staring into her wide brown eyes. "Already eager to cheat on your mate?"

She spat in his face and he flinched before he backhanded her, Lucy dropped to the ground. "If you insist on acting like an animal, understand I am capable of treating you like one." To prove his point, he summoned a black leather riding crop in his hands and glared at her as he flexed it in his hands. She scrambled back against the grey stone floor and wrapped her arms protectively around her middle. That fire inside of her refusing to relent.

Zeref could understand why Mard would choose such a woman as a Queen and mate. Lucy had a spark to her, a kind of strength that tempted him into wanting to break it. From the few light scars on her creamy flesh, this was a woman who was no stranger to pain. There was something delicious about that and Zeref knew he hadn't had his own needs met in a while.

After the events of today and the fact she was carrying the child he needed, Zeref no longer had to care. All he needed to do was keep her healthy enough to keep the child in her womb till he cut it out of her. Zeref pulled at his collar and ripped open his jacket, listening as buttons flew into the wall. He took a step closer to her and she kept her head up, her jaw locked, and eyes hardened. She was no simpering female, that much was certain but tonight, he longed to hear her scream for him.

"Tell me Miss Heartfilia," he said as his fingers made short work of the white shirt and he tapped the riding crop against the side of his leg, "what is it about you?"

She moved, her back hitting against the wall as she clamped her legs together and her arms over her child. "Nothing, you won't touch me. You like your mental games, but you can't be…"

Zeref gave her a slow hungry smile, "I can, I assure you." Lucy put one of her hands to her mouth as a tear slid down her cheek. He stood over her, putting the tip of the riding crop under her chin and forcing her to look at him. "Now that you are mine, how about we get to know each other?"

She grabbed the riding crop and glared at him, "no. The only one I want is my King. You're just a jerk, not even worthy to be in the same league as Mard."

Zeref raise a brow, "I think the phrase, challenge accepted is appropriate." She gulped as her little act started to crack as another tear rolled down her cheek. He could feel himself harden at the thought of her tears as he came down on a knee and grabbed her chin. Her lip quivered as he got close to her face, she was fighting to stay in control, but that fight was slowly leaving her eyes.

Lucy put her hands on the ground and suddenly he heard her scream, "Lucy kick!" and pain exploded from his groin. He doubled over, curled up on his side as she took the riding crop and scurried away from him. Zeref thought he saw stars as he tried to concentrate on the pain and heal himself. That was when a pale bare foot crashed into the side of his head and everything went black.

He was going to enjoy breaking her, after a short nap.

* * *

_Next chapter will be the end of this beast._

_As always, please comment, kudo, and bookmark Thank you for all the comments and kudos thus far._

_Up Next - Nightmare's End_


	9. Nightmare's End

_Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail, I own Merlin, Corvus, Scimitar, Haladie and Chakram (they have been part of my MardLu headcanons since Thorn in his Side back in 2018). As a note I was gonna do this chapter differently and then I just said fuck it and decided to have some fun with it. Enjoy!_

* * *

Mard spent the time gently petting Velvet, letting the large flesh eating rose to nuzzle against his chest. His roses could always pick up on his disposition, much akin to cats only they didn’t leave fur or lick their nether regions on the table. He kept a careful ear out for his guests as they bantered in different conversations. The only two hard at work for the problem was Merlin and Freed, the others were mindlessly getting heated about something called a comic book.

The affectionate rose perked her head up when the squeaky wheel of the food cart came into the area. Mard looked over at the small imp pushing it, it struggled under the weight of the raw steaks piled on it. He held up his hand and the imp stopped as he crossed over to it and picked up two large pieces of meat. Which demon or animal this came from he didn’t care, it had a been a while since he personally fed his roses. He tossed one at Alba who was waiting with her mouth wide open and she snatched it mid arc. The other he handed to Velvet, she was better about not trying to nip his fingers when he hand fed her. Alba liked to play a little too much.

“Mard, we got something mate,” Merlin said and he spun around to face the group. He noticed that Cobra had changed positions and was sneaking up to the raw meat pile.

“Are you hungry?” Mard asked as Cobra grinned at the food.

“No, but can I play with the roses?” he asked and Mard tilted his head.

He shrugged, “Alba enjoys playing fetch with her food, Velvet is reasonable about taking it from your hand.”

Cobra jumped up and clapped his hands, “awesome! Never fed a rose raw steak before.”

Mard pursed his lips and considered the pile, “some of that may be criminals from the dungeon that were executed.”

“Dude, so they eat people?” he asked as he sniffed at the pile.

“People are made of flesh, sometimes they even get their meals fresh. Velvet enjoys that, Alba not so much,” Mard said as the maroon-haired man’s jaw fell open. “Welcome to the Underworld.”

Cobra looked over his shoulder and smiled at Laxus, “we need a vacation place here. So like murder is cool and shit?”

“Depending on the situation murder could be too polite. Underworld is ruled based on strength and law, I have both in high measure and a low tolerance for those who go against me.”

To Mard’s surprise he was pulled into a hug, “I think I just met my bestie.”

Mard pushed out of the embrace and noticed Merlin trying to suppress her giggle. There was something that she knew that was making this exchange all the more interesting to her and her sense of humor. That could be resolved later, “excuse me.”

He walked over to the mages and looked at the map on the table, more aptly the big red circle on that map. “You found her?”

“Yes, your Majesty, Zeref has even higher protections over this area, so the work was a bit more time consuming,” Freed said as Mard slid a sideways glance at Merlin.

He noticed how happy she was to be in the same area as the lithe well-mannered mage. The delay was not necessary.

It was, can only meddle so much and Freed needed some work.

Mard pursed his lips, “Zeref will expect our attack, if he has one backup measure, rest assured he will have another!”

“Ouch! Fuck!” Cobra called out, diverting everyone to look at him as he shook his hand, spraying a few drops of blood on himself.

“You tried to hand feed Alba?” Mard asked.

“It’s not like they have fucking name tags, Munchkin,” he shot back and Mard’s brows raised.

“Mard Geer, is my name you petulant asshole,” Mard bristled, he detested pet names given to him. Also, their height difference was only an inch, so that did not make any sense. Merlin and Laxus both started chuckling and he heard a whispered bet being placed between the two. He glared at them both, “we have no time for this. Merlin send us there.”

“Ya may want a little scouting first,” she said.

Mard smashed his fist into the table, shattering the tempered glass and bending the cast iron frame. The roses in his garden immediately started moving, seeking out whatever upset him and considering it an attack. “Our time is running out! There is no telling what Zeref has done to my mate! He has very few threads of sanity and I have seen him gaze at her in lust.”

A large hand covered his own and he looked into the stormy blue eyes of the blonde one. “We get the urgency, she’s our family too. Merlin is right we need to make sure there isn’t a massive military force or a bunch of dark wizards waiting for us. You can’t save them if your dead.”

Mard let out a harsh breath, “apologies for the outburst. You are correct.”

“Excuse me chaps, gotta go run a quick errand,” Merlin interrupted.

“Now?” Mard asked a bit upset at how sloppy this rescue was becoming.

“Take two shakes of a lamb’s tail and ya need me to do this.” She gave a nod to Freed and vanished.

“I am assuming you know what this is about,” Mard said as Freed adjusted his cravat.

“She is fetching Lucy’s keys and an extra key that she says will only help you in the long run if you can handle his personality,” Freed answered as he squatted near the mess to slowly brush away the glass form their map.

Keys, he forgot about those, despite many of her stories about the spirits and how her magic in general worked. Mard was too consumed with his own emotions to be paying attention to all the details. That was going to bother him, later because he had no time for it now. As a gifted taction, this lapse in judgement was unnerving for he is perfection. Yet he had been running on nothing but pure emotion since arriving back home.

“I forgot about her keys,” he whispered to the twisted metal table. Mard telepathically ordered a cleanup crew for the garden and a new table to be brought in.

It also occurred to him that soon he would share this home with Rosebud and then Spawnling. Mard had never cared if people agreed with his decorating style but he needed her to like it. Was the castle pristine and should he soundproof the torture rooms? Some demons could scream loud enough to shake the grey stone and mortar walls. Then there would be the consideration for poisonous plants and his small child trying them. Mard sank in a chair and scrubbed a hand down his face as he started cataloguing all the changes and questions.

Metal against stone caught his ear and he noticed that Laxus and Freed had moved their chairs from the debris, that was being cleaned up by a few servants. They had a curiosity in their faces and since the blonde one had regarded Rosebud as family, perhaps they could help him. He sat up a little, “I am worried that Rosebud may not like the accommodations here or that this castle may not be safe for a small demonling to run around.”

The two men both looked at each other and then back to him. Laxus put a hand over his mouth, Mard could hear the quiet chuckle. _Oh man that is gold! Scary demon all worried about Lucy. _Mard was going to say something but Freed slid his foot over and stomped on Laxus’s, shutting up the man and giving him a hard glare.

“Since we know Lucy, how about a tour your Majesty? I think it’s wonderful that you care about your family and want to make things accommodating for them.” He said, “right, Laxus?” The blonde one nodded and quickly stopped laughing.

Mard shrugged, “since we have a bit of a time.”

* * *

Merlin walked through the misty forest, careful of the lost souls wandering around. Plane of Mists was not one of her favorite places, the dampness in the air combined with the hopeless staring of souls left her uneasy. If it wasn’t for the fact that someone very important resided here, she would not have bothered.

Before a neutral soul can either go for reincarnation or total obliteration it wanders here. A soul of evil went to Hell, a soul of good went to Heaven, regardless of what Mard may have thought. Then again demons were always different, and these spaces were meant for humans. She passed by a small child in a torn dress and her heart broke as her fingers passed through the mist that made her messy hair as she clutched a ghost like teddy bear. It was a harsh truth, children weren’t always granted immediate peace, their small memories would go with them in their next stop.

She looked ahead smiling a little as she saw the outer rim of the large nest that glittered in the hazy light. Merlin jumped, soaring through the air to clear the distance before she landed on the edge. The twigs and baubles creaked and moaned under her weight and she laughed as she looked down at the occupant.

“Oi! Corvus,” she said as the pale man with dark as pitch hair and massive Raven wings on his back jumped at the sound of her voice. He turned around; his lips quirky up in a smile as his dark eyes went wide.

“Merlin! How is my favorite head case?” he said, his voice like butter as he fidgeted with the tarnished silver key around his neck.

“Still a nutter,” she teased as she jumped down and crossed to hug him. Corvus shook his head, black locks dancing around his sharp face. He tossed on a black tunic, covering his pale and well chiseled torso, the cotton material flowing to upper leather clad thigh.

They embraced as she peaked over his shoulder to see a man roll over, wrapping himself in a black blanket. “You’ve been busy.”

Corvus let go and shrugged, “cuddling partner. Ravens suck at being alone. What’s up?”

“How would you like to have a new keymaster?” Merlin asked with a grin.

He arched a brow, “it’s only been 600 years. Please tell me he’s cute.”

“A she actually, mated to Mard Geer and carrying his first child.” Merlin replied as Corvus blinked several times and rubbed his right ear.

“Mard Geer mated?” he asked, and Merlin threw her head back and laughed. She knew damn well this news was going to shake up the Planes oh and of course she really couldn’t wait to talk to the Celestial Spirit King. That conversation was going to be a real spot of devious fun. He and Mard hated each other.

“Aye, her name is Lucy, but he calls her Rosebud, charmin’ ya?” she asked and he nodded, “but need ya talents love. She can’t be Underworld Queen without an anchor to her magic and I can’t do all their Plane hopping for ‘em.”

Corvus tilted his head as a small groan came from behind him, he looked over his shoulder, “I don’t know Merlin, anyone who would mate Mard…” His voice trailed off before he returned his eyes to look at her, Merlin could see the confusion and dread in his features.

“Oi, right here,” she said putting a slim hand on his fabric covered shoulder and pointing to her eyes, “she balances him and then he’s gonna be a father. Ya love the babies!”

Corvus chuckled, “last time I met him, he was kind of a…”

“Pillock? Ya, I know but he’s my best mate. Also…” Merlin playfully whistled as she bounced on the balls of her feet. Corvus blinked several times before he started laughing, understanding that this more about annoying the Spirit King.

Corvus was one of the very few constellations that was not tied to the Celestial Realm, the nature of his powers brought him under a different structure. He was one of Odin’s Ravens, a Star Iron Key, darker power in many ways but the same celestial connection. It made him and several of his fellow smaller constellations unique characters. Merlin loved them all and kept tabs on them based on if she found them a wonderful fit. The poor Raven needed to get out of here, this place was depressing.

As she stood here sharing a laugh, she reached out for Mard’s mind and found that he was discussing baby proofing a torture room. She wanted to say something to Mard but he was too busy laughing as Cobra play acted baby’s first vivisection. Least he was in good hands, but she did need to hurry.

“Alright anything to keep annoying that dick, she’s cool at least?” he finally asked.

“Dunno, have yet to meet her but she’s cool enough to make Mard fall in love,” Merlin replied.

“Love? That demon mancandy?” Corvus asked as he moved around the large nest and pulled out a pair of well-kept axes. Merlin knew this was good, he was grabbing his gear to make the jump.

“Aye, Corvus ya know I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t believe this still forming family wasn’t going to be brilliant fer ya.”

He smiled as he sat on the edge of the nest and started putting his black boots on. “I know Merlin, wish you were around when I dealt with Rabenfuckwitz...” his eyes got larger for a second, “he was reborn recently, before he left, he finally apologized to me.”

Merlin gave him a soft smile, “blimey, that had ta be a moment.” Corvus nodded as he finished tying his boot, he stomped the soft feathered bottom of the nest a couple times before giving her a thumbs up. Merlin held out her hand and he pulled at the small leather cord of the key around his neck, breaking the soft leather and handing it to her.

“We have ta pick up her key ring first and one more stop,” she said.

“It’s never a straight line with you is it?” Corvus asked.

“Be frightfully boring,” she replied as she took his warm hand and went back to Earth Land.

They bounced and skipped their way through the three other Planes to make their connection gates for this bit of travel. It also gave her a chance to show Corvus the direct gate between Underworld and this version EarthLand. The spirit was adept as hell at plane hopping but Merlin had been doing it pretty much nonstop for the last 500 years that she was able to show him new shortcuts. It was her day job, Planar Cartographer and she enjoyed it, finding new people to talk to and children to adopt. Which reminded her, it was going to be Auron’s 45th birthday soon and she needs to gather up the kids for the party on the Plane of War.

They came out of the portal and the small clock under her forearm started to tick again. She only had a total of an hour, once every three days on Earth Land or Etheremo would become unstable. It was a bit of a curse for her, but it was a system that kept the Plane balanced and prevented her from playing deus ex machina. As a smart blue animated character said once “phenomenal cosmic power, itty bitty time at home.” Well something like that.

_Mom!_ Irdria shouted into her head and Merlin paused. The little voice belonged to her youngest adopted child, an angel, literally and currently giving Michael a headache daily. She was currently in Kingdom, which was the realm of angels and not to be confused with Heaven, it was more of an exo-plane.

_Hey nipper, mama is busy, gotta go save a new friend. _She replied trying to concentrate on not speaking out loud as they rummaged through the massive ornate bedroom. Seemed like an odd place to keep the keys but she could feel their magic pulsing in this area.

“Looking for these?” Corvus said as he held up a key ring in one hand and a water magic whip in the other. Merlin recognized that little bit of magic and figured it must be a set and both belonging to Lucy.

“Yes,” she said as she examined it. It was quite the collection, almost all of them and as she held them, she heard a familiar chime and spun around.

“Merlin?” the elegant ginger in a dapped black suit said as he adjusted his blue tinted sunglasses.

_Mom, what do I get Auron for his birthday?_ Irdria asked.

“He’s got grandkids, so a vacation,” she said and then promptly let out a breath, “sorry dual conversations. We gotta move it chaps,” Merlin relayed the message to her daughter who was then a flurry of questions about what that meant.

Leo chuckled as Corvus stared at her as if she truly was a nutter, “which kid this time?”

“Irdria, little angel. Auron is gonna be 45 soon, have a party ta plan” Merlin said with a grin, half tempted to start pulling out the pictures of all 8 kids and 3 grandkids. She was trying to explain things to her youngest and keep the spirits entertained. She looked at her clocks and had thirty minutes left.

Corvus clicked his tongue, “oh right, you adopt babies. Only met the one, what was his name? Kind of cute long blonde hair, glasses, likes money.”

“Alexander? He’s fine, won his fifth award for Economics, his wife is pregnant again,” she sighed, “I am too young to be a grandmother, again.” Both spirits laughed at her and she stuck her tongue out at them. Merlin cut off the connection to her daughter with a quick _love ya nipper _and focused.

“Where’s Lucy?” Leo asked as he looked over his glasses at Corvus. Corvus blew him a kiss and Merlin rolled her eyes.

“Next stop gotta scout the area before Mard can go save her,” she said.

“No! Mard is a tyrant…” Leo started as Merlin snapped her fingers and put him on timeout back in the Celestial Realm. She could keep his gate force closed for 24 Earth Land hours but would drop it when Lucy got her keys back. Judging by the magic still coursing through them the spirits were concerned and not a single one had severed the contract. That was high impressive.

She held out her hand and Corvus took it as she teleported them to the next stop. Teleportation only worked between two points in the same Plane, for anything else that required passing through layers of reality, we had Plane Hopping. It was such a lovely difference in magic, teleportation was colorful and fast as you moved through folded space, but it could really wreck someone who had motion sickness.

They appeared outside of a small log cabin overlooking a sharp cliff over the ocean. Merlin held her hand out and could feel the magic and the anti-magic field. Normally she would never meddle but something in the air told her that this time, she was going to break that word. Mostly because this involved Zeref and he was one person she absolutely despised. His latest plan was sick and twisted much like the remnants of what used to be his heart.

“Corvus, think I’m gonna be a bit naughty. Need a favor,” she said.

The Raven spirit blinked at her, “you never ask for a favor. What’s up crazy lady?”

“Help Lucy, I’m going to shatter magic in the area, give her the keys and back her up. Be careful she’s pregnant,” Merlin said as she double checked her clocks.

“Why not just grab her yourself?” he asked.

“Ain’t no fun that way and gives ya one hell of an introduction. Know you like your drama,” she said with a feral grin and he answered with a caw. Merlin could see the joy in his eyes at this moment, this was gonna be a bloody fantastic show.

“That’s it?” he asked as the sea wind kicked bits of sand around them.

“Well when you get her to Mard, need ya to send a Rune mage named Freed Justine to Mechanis for me,” she said.

“Is he hot?” Corvus joked and Merlin pinched his side.

“Fated One,” she said as the Raven spirit gathered her lithe frame in his arms and crushed her.

“Yay!”

“Blimey put me down ya twit,” she laughed. Corvus set her on the ground and she handed him the keys, “Plane shift, count to ten and come back,” Merlin said. There were several planes he could temporarily shift to, and he should be fine for those ten seconds. Usually with Ravens their attention span lasted several minutes for problem solving, though Corvus seemed a little less than stellar on that front.

He vanished and Merlin called up her magic, reciting an old incantation before she slammed her fist into the soft sand. Etheremo particles and sand blew up and away from her in a massive shockwave as she nullified the entire area, cancelling Zeref’s magic for a few minutes and releasing the anti-magic protections. Those few minutes, should be all Lucy and Corvus needs to get the hell out of Dodge.

Satisfied Merlin left as Corvus blinked back into reality. She made a quick stop in Hell to let Lily know what was going up, mostly as a warning to the succubus Queen and Regent to keep her hands off Mard. The ancient succubus was not happy until Merlin gave her a tip on where to find Zeref and that he broke his word to demonkind, then Lilith hugged her, and all was right in the world. Unless your Zeref, but that wanker deserved whatever Lily and her crew were going to do to his black soul.

Now to get back to Mechanis and get her townhouse all cleaned up for company tonight. Life was never dull, and her to-do list was always full.

* * *

Zeref had finally woken up and Lucy was waiting for him, he got to his hands and knees and she promptly kicked at him again. This time he twisted his body to the side and caught her foot, knocking her off balance. She landed on her side with a dull thud against the carpeting before he pulled. The carpet grazed along her bare and naked skin as her slip rode up to her waist flashing the matching silk thong at him.

Zeref was on top of her, his hands holding down her shoulders as she squirmed under him. Lucy would be damned if she didn’t put up as much of a fight as possible against this asshole. As he moved to try and put those lips of his on her the entire place shook. His eyes went wide for a moment before he got off her and Lucy rolled back and up to her feet.

She could feel it, the anti-magic aura was gone, and he looked a million times paler than before. Zeref leaned against the wall, his breathing was labored as his hands started shaking. Lucy looked around, finally seeing a door that wasn’t there previously. The blonde decided to make a run for it and as she got close to the door it swung open.

A man walked through it, pale skin, black hair, and massive wings coming off his back but most importantly she noticed her keyring and _Fleuve d'étoiles_ in one of his hands. Lucy looked behind her, Zeref had fallen to his knees as he vomited all over the ground, which was gross, and she was wondering what the hell happened.

“Um, Lucy right?” he asked and she nodded.

“I need my keys and who are you?” she asked in a rush.

“Oh Corvus, Star Iron Key, plane shifter, magic anchor, Merlin sent me, here,” he thrust the keys and her whip in her hand and Lucy let out a breath of relief. She wasn’t certain who Merlin was but would have to thank him later.

Corvus, she recognized it as one of the constellations but had never met the spirit in the couple times she had been to the Celestial Realm. He was certainly different, even the energy that came from him was a departure from what she was used to. It was darker, richer and goosebumps formed on her skin, but she didn’t feel afraid of the spirit who now had to battle axes in his hands. She double checked her keyring and saw a different one on there and held it up.

“My key,” he threw one of the axes and Lucy watched as it hit Zeref in the shoulder, pinning him to the wall as he screamed. “Go on, it’s an easy contract and I loves babies.”

Lucy was rarely good under pressure, but she could feel the magic start coming back into the area. Each second she was getting weaker and had no time. “Corvus, would you like to make a contract with me?”

He took her hand and pulled her into a hug as he tossed the other axe, Lucy didn’t bother to look. “Sorry Queenie,” he said as Lucy felt one of his warm hands press against the naked skin of her back. She screamed as she felt like she was being branded, the contract magic tearing through her body as something heavy settled beside her shoulder blades. Lucy panted through it and then felt the contract magic settle into her being.

She stepped out of his embrace, he looked at her with a boyish smile, “said I was sorry, but we gotta go.”

Lucy twitched her back and felt two massive soft feather wings graze along the back of her arms. She looked over her shoulder, her eyes wide, “wings?”

Corvus shrugged, “yep, flying alone is boring, figured we could start a conspiracy.” Lucy chuckled as he pushed her back, narrowly avoiding the axe. The door started to flicker, and she grabbed Corvus’s wrist to pull him through the doorway. The frame hit her wings and almost knocked her back, she was going to have to figure this out later, which was going to be awesome.

They got to the dimly lit hallways and she saw the wooden stairs down the way and ran for it, trying to keep her new wings tucked behind her. Lucy got upstairs and barely took in the surroundings of the little cabin, before running straight outside. Out here she could draw from the power of the stars and be away from the anti-magic field.

“I gotta go take you to Mard,” Corvus said as they ran towards the cliff. Lucy skitted to a stop as she heard a roar from the cabin. She looked back and saw Zeref charging towards them, Lucy cracked her whip and noticed that both those axes were back in Corvus’s hands.

“Hurry!” she said as a crazed looking Zeref, with his pants undone and blood staining through his white shirt came for them. Corvus took her hand as Zeref grabbed at her wing and suddenly they were falling through the very world.

Lucy wasn’t certain what this was, and she held on to the strange spirit as they traveled. She had no idea where she was going but all she knew was that it was going to be far enough away from Zeref for now. They pair landed in the middle of a beautiful courtyard, Lucy let go of the spirit as she took in a deep breath of air, noticing a bit of sulfur in it.

“W-where are we?” she asked as she noticed two large roses with teeth and bits of blood on their petals, craning towards her. Lucy put a hand on her belly and stepped back as her wings flared out.

“Rosebud!” she heard Mard’s voice and spun around, almost falling over from the extra weight on her back that she was not used to.

Mard ran at her, he was dressed up beautifully in a black three-piece suit. “Mard!” she went running towards him and wishing the wings would just go away for now. They did and she felt a million times lighter as she jumped into his arms. Lucy wrapped her bare legs around his waist as she cupped his face and kissed him in joy. He spun them around as he returned the kiss.

For a few seconds all that mattered was the feel of her demon and the passion of their kiss. Mard pulled back and set her down, he removed his suit coat and draped it over her shoulders before he was pushed out of the way by a very excitable Cobra.

“Sunshine!” he said as he hugged her. She was then quickly passed to Laxus and then Freed as tears of joy started flowing from her eyes at the site of everyone.

“Where the hell am I?” she finally asked as she looked around.

“Castle Tartaros, Underworld,” Mard said as he took her hand and placed a kiss to her knuckles.

“Dude this place is lit! You gotta see his torture room, it’s dude…” Cobra said, and Lucy giggled at the one eyed crazy person.

“How the fuck did you get here, Blondie?” Laxus asked as he looked over at Corvus who was milling around the small water feature, lightly splashing the water.

“Something killed magic around the cabin and then Corvus showed up and got me out.”

“Queenie saved herself, really, I’m just the taxi service,” the Raven spirit said as he flicked his hand to clear off the water, “oh I need someone named Freed Justine, he’s got a date.”

“Corvus…” Mard pursed his lips, “Odin’s Raven?”

“We met like hundred years ago, he thought you’re pretty badass,” Corvus said as he held out his hand and Mard took it, the demon and spirit being cordial. “Hey, can I call you Demon Daddy?”

“No, I would prefer if people who are not Rosebud refrain from nicknames,” he said.

“Not gonna happen Munchkin,” Cobra added as Lucy chuckled. To her it seemed perfectly normal – a term she was using loosely – to see two snarky asshats laugh it up like old friends and random nemesis.

Laxus leaned over, “you would not believe the shit these two talk about.”

Lucy chuckled, “oh I can imagine, Cobra’s mentally twisted and Mard is Mard.” She pulled close the suit jacket and tilted her head down to breath in the scent of roses and coffee that was uniquely Mard’s.

She noticed Freed walking towards Corvus, he stopped and gave a smile towards Laxus. The large slayer nodded, “have fun Freed and come back to visit.”

Lucy was confused, “what is going on?”

Freed adjusted his burgundy coat and brushed his emerald bangs to the side, “I have a date with a goddess.”

“Huh?” she asked, feeling like an idiot for not understanding what the hell was going on.

“Rosebud, how about a hot bath and I will explain things to you as I wash your back,” Mard offered and she found herself grinning.

“Oh, stars above I would kill for a bath, with bubbles?” she asked as Mard put an arm around her shoulders before scooping her up.

“As many as you want,” he said as he kissed her cheek and started walking.

“Corvus can you get everyone home?” Lucy asked as Cobra and Laxus were hugging Freed goodbye.

“On it Queenie, have fun!” he chirped as Mard took her out of what she assumed was a castle courtyard.

Lucy nestled against her King as he carried her, she was trying to look around at the castle but found her eyes only wanted to keep looking at her mate. He took her into a lavish black marble and silver bathroom and set her on her feet, Mard closed the door and spun around to look at her before he dropped to his knees. Her fingers worked through his soft dark plum locks as he held her.

“I’m safe, self-rescuing Queen, it’s a new concept,” she teased as he placed a kiss to her stomach.

“Merlin has never meddled before, but I think I understand the logic for this,” he said as he stood up and kissed her forehead.

“I think my king has much explaining to do,” she said as she shrugged out of his suit coat, letting it pool at her feet.

Mard sat at the edge of the large circular bathtub, he turned the large silver knobs and clear water started pouring in from small slits in the marble on multiple sides. He let out a breath and looked at her as he pulled at his tie, “if you must know, in all the commotion, it is my birthday.”

Lucy’s eyes went wide and she walked across the cool marble flooring to sit on the edge of the bathtub next to Mard, “happy birthday, I’m sorry I don’t have a gift for you.”

Mard ran the back of his fingers against her cheek and looked into her eyes, “you and Spawnling are safe and home, that is the greatest gift I have ever received.”

Lucy melted a little, “I love you.”

Mard kissed her gently, “I love you too, Rosebud.” Lucy’s heart fluttered in her chest at his words and then deepened the kiss. Despite it being his birthday, she was certain she was the one who got the greatest gift. A family.

* * *

_Ten years later…_

* * *

Mard was sitting out in the courtyard, enjoying his night wine as Rosebud curled up against him reading her latest scientific journal on the padded iron loveseat. The children were all finally in bed, but Haladie and Chakram were still busy talking to each other, both in their little four-year-old wisdom certain that daddy could not hear them. He internally laughed at that and the fact that Ram was certain that Spawnling was hiding under his bed to eat him.

His eldest daughter was the only one who took after him, in many more ways than he had ever figured. However, he learned to not question his mate’s intuition, she said she was having a girl and she certainly did. Twins for the second pregnancy was a shock to both but Mard could not have been happier to have more demonlings around the castle. He found fatherhood to be to his liking and with such a mate as his Rosebud his life had been fulfilling.

“Mard, happy anniversary,” she whispered as she turned the page of her leather-bound book. He raised a brow and sipped his wine, as he calculated the date. It was this day that they first were locked in the prison cell together. When Zeref had his grand designs for their first child’s heart blood and they were forced to have sex for a couple months before it became a choice they made.

“Only you would say that, how is it this day does not bother you, Rosebud?” he asked as she chuckled and inserted her pink kitten adorned bookmark into her journal. She set it down on the small coffee table his feet were resting on before she switched positions and straddled his lap.

He met her coffee colored eyes as she played with the collar of his black house robe over his silver pajamas. Her own pink robe parted a little, showing off a bit of her very kissable cleavage to him under the purple camisole. “Today was the day when I first found met the demon of my dreams, even if he didn’t know it yet.” She teased as she kissed his cheek.

“You did not like me so much then,” Mard pointed out as she took the crystal wine glass out of his hand and took a sip.

“You weren’t keen on me either but look where we are now. Think we would be here if it wasn’t for all of that?” she asked.

Mard knew she was just looking for a little romantic storytelling and though they both had troubles overcoming those months of their life, a bit of rose-colored glasses remembrance was not necessarily a horrible thing. He pursed his lips, “theoretically, it is possible we would have met another way. You are the better half of my soul, Rosebud.”

She rolled her eyes and smiled at him, “My King, just go with it.”

“Careful Rosebud, you know the consequences of your flirting around me,” he teased as his Queen leaned back to set the wine glass on the table.

She sat up and untied her robe, teasing him slightly and Mard’s brain started shutting down as he started to harden under her warmth. Even after a decade together he still felt like an out of control young demon around her. His lust was rarely satiated, but he learned patience and the virtues of soundproofing, thanks to a curious Spawnling who was certain that her parents were torturing each other.

“I like that I can still seduce the hell out of my mate,” she said as she softly bit his earlobe, her hands running down his arms.

“Vixen,” he breathed as his head rolled back and she started laying burning kisses down his throat. Mard closed his eyes as he grabbed her beautiful curves and gently massaged them. He didn’t care where he had his Rosebud and when she was playing with him like this, the world could fall apart, and he would not care.

She opened his pajama top and ran her nails down his skin, causing him to shiver under her erotic touches. Mard held her and stood up, as he did, he looked over her shoulder and let out a breath.

“Mommy, Scimi is going to eat me,” Ram said as he stood in the doorway to the inner courtyard holding on to his stuffed purple snake. The little snake had been with their blonde-haired son since birth when Warlord Cobra thought it a proper baby gift.

After spending time with both Cobra, commonly called Asshole, and Freed, Mard found them positions within his royal court. He enjoyed this concept of having friends, as well as freeing up some of his time by making Freed his Regent and Cobra the Warlord. They spoke with his voice or his wrath, respectively when he was busy with his own family.

Rosebud started giggling as Mard set her down, “go to bed and get ready,” she said as she tied up her robe and walked towards their child who was yawning, a little fang peeking out from behind pink lips. Mard watched his Queen pick up their son and take him back to bed.

He smiled for a moment before dashing for the bedroom, because when his Queen gave him orders he tended to listen. Most of the time.

Not the most conventionally romantic way for two soulmates to meet but for the life he had now, Mard Geer certainly had no complaints. Least not till he heard the distinct scream of “Scimitar Layla Tartaros we do not torture, maim, eat or damage family!” Then all he had was a quiet chuckle and a quick reminder that later he was going to be told that Spawnling was his. Resigned to his fate, Mard buttoned his top and went to go deal with his daughter and then his wife.

_Fin._

* * *

_And there you go, this story is now complete. Thank you so much to everyone who commented and kudoed. I know MardLu isn't a conventional ship and thanks for taking a chance on this story._

_If you enjoyed this, please leave a comment and kudo There will be more MardLu coming and don't forget Unholy Trinity 2019 is coming up and that's gonna be all the fun. _


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